Prince Zuko: Shanghaied
by JCWit
Summary: After being shanghaied into the Earth Kingdom Army, the war of countries becomes a battle for survival for the banished prince Zuko. Set after Tales of Ba Sing Se AU
1. Captured

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender **

**Prince Zuko: Shanghaied **

Chapter 1

Captured

It was dark outside as two agents of the Dai Li crouched in the shadows watching the house of Zuko and Iroh.

"Sir" Lieutenant Shin asked, as he and his commanding officer peered through a window of a smaller style house in the poorer section of Ba Sing Se. "What are we doing again?"

"Quiet Shin," Captain Kwan hissed "You know our orders"

Shin nodded "Capture the refugee called 'Lee', I just don't understand why"

"That's not our business, all I know is get the kid and report to the Dai Li"

Lieutenant Shin had nothing else to say, orders were orders especially when serving in Ba Sing Se. They could see the two men within the building. Lee was one of them, he was tall and thin.

_He looked as if he had a hard life _Shin thought, immediately feeling a little sorry for the boy. He also noted that the young man had a huge red scar on one side of his face.

Lee's uncle, whose name was Mushi, Shin knew worked in the best tea shop in town. At this moment Mushi was sipping on some tea and appeared to be talking to his nephew. They were having an argument about something.

_Man, I wish I could read lips _Shin thought, as they continued to watch, waiting for the right time to carry out their orders.

ATLAB

"Uncle," Zuko said irritated "don't you ever get sick of that stuff?"

Iroh looked down at the cup of hot tea he held in his hand. "How can you get sick of tea!"

"We work in a tea shop all day" Zuko replied angrily " I would think an old man like you would tire easily of these things!"

Iroh looked down at the tea he held in his hands, momentarily taken back by his nephew's comment. He knew Zuko did not mean that, ever since his "date" the other night Zuko had been acting angry and frustrated. Even more so than usual.

"Zuko," Iroh started, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing" Zuko replied, turning away.

"Didn't you enjoy your date with your lady friend?" His Uncle asked.

"Yes, it was fine" he replied trying to avoid any other questions.

"Then what's the problem?!"

"Uncle, you might not get tired of tea or anything else in this jail of a city," Zuko said, then lowered his voice "but we don't belong here, I am heir to the throne of the Fire Nation and that is my rightful place. Going out the other night made me realize that."

"But your father disowned and banished you," Iroh said " it's not your rightful place now"

"Even so" Zuko said " I plan on taking my rightful place on the throne one way or another and no one is going to stop me. Just because you lost your seat on the throne to your younger brother it doesn't mean I will sit here and let Azula take mine."

"Are you crazy, how do you plan on doing that!?" Iroh asked.

"I don't know Uncle, but I need to get out of this mud hole. I want a way to earn back my father's respect, even if I failed at capturing the Avatar."

"Zuko, we talked about this," Iroh said shaking his head. "capturing the Avatar may not restore your honor, now I'm not even sure capturing him before could have done that."

The banished Prince ignored his Uncle's comment. "I'm going to bed, good night Uncle"

"Good night Prince Zuko" Iroh called after his nephew as Zuko slid his doors shut.

When the doors shut, Zuko laid down on his mat. Looking up at the ceiling he slowly drifted off to sleep. He dreamed of his mother and the night she left for the final time. He had never seen her since but he never forgot what she told him. 'never forget who you are' and he hadn't. He was Prince Zuko heir to the throne of the Fire Nation.

Then he was back on his ship, the night Zhao's goons almost blew him to kingdom come. He still remembered that day, it was the day of his ultimate down fall. The day of his scaring was what started it all.

He was laying in his bed when he heard a bang. No, wait he could still hear something. Zuko opened one of his eyes, living on the run had taught him to 'sleep with one eye open' so to speak. There was someone in the room. Zuko got up, naturally getting into his fire bending stance.

The banished prince could still hear or see no one. Then some one grabbed him, their stone gloved hand coved Zuko's mouth and nose while the other started to pull him back. He slammed his elbow backwards only catching air.

_What?! _he thought before slowly drifting unconscious from lack of air.

When Zuko awoke he found that he was in a relatively dark room with a faint green glow of the fire in the back of the room. There were also three figures, one sitting in the center on a cushion and the other two standing to his side.

"I am Long Feng, Grand Secretariat to Ba Sing Se and head of the Dai Li." The one in the center said. " I trust your stay in Ba Sing Se is enjoyable one."

Zuko didn't answer. He tried to move his arms, but his wrists were cuffed together with some kind of rock. _Do they know I'm a fire bender? _Zuko thought. _Where's Uncle?. _

Long Feng continued. "Lee is it?" Zuko did not answer again. "It seems that we have a problem, you pose a threat to the well-being of the citizens of Ba Sing Se."

"What do you mean?!" Zuko asked. "I did not start that fight, Jet was just a crazed kid who didn't know what he was talking about."

"Yes, yes I am well aware of that incident and your friend Jet was taken care of accordingly," Long Feng said, waving that off. "This is a far different matter. I value the well being of Ba Sing Se and the everlasting war poses a threat at upsetting the peaceful nature of the city and you Lee, are a reminder of that nightmare that takes place out side the safety of the walls."

"How do I remind you of the war." Zuko asked confused.

"Let me be frank, Lee, it's your scar," Long Feng said casually then he asked. "how did you get it?"

"Kitchen accident" was Zuko's immediate answer.

Long Feng smiled "I don't think so, you are more than just a tea server," he paused. "You got that scar from a Fire Bender and judging from your little duel the other night you are quite the warrior and I plan on putting you back where all warriors belong. In a war."

"I am no soldier" Zuko snarled.

"You misunderstand you don't have a choice." Long Feng said.

After that Zuko felt a hard crack on the top of his head before his eyes were filled with darkness.

ATLAB

Qwan and Shin stood holding the unconscious young man.

"Sir" Shin asked. "all this over a scar?"

"We must take extra precautions with the Avatar in the city," Long Feng replied calmly. " Our friend Lee is a visual reminder of the war, if news of the war spreads it will cause unrest and Ba Sing Se will be thrown into a state of panic. I must retain the cultural heritage of the city at all costs. Take him and make sure he is put on the front lines."

Shin still didn't understand, but he did as he was told. With that Zuko was carried out of the building and put on the next ship out of the city.


	2. Aboard “The Granite”

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zuko or anything else Avatar.**

**Author's Note: This story is focused primarily on Zuko and his adventures, but I will add little Iroh shorts to help tie up the ending. Enjoy! **

Aboard "The Granite"

Chapter 2

In the morning when Zuko had awakened, he found himself below deck of an Earth Kingdom ship. He could hear the waves hit against the ship's sides and could feel the gentle rocking of the boat, to which he had grown accustomed with his two years at sea.

He had hoped that last night was just a bad dream he could wake up from, but his head hurt and he felt dizzy. That's when he was sure that his experience was real. Soon the world began to spin and Zuko felt that he might throw up when he heard someone speak.

"Drink this," the figure said as he handed him a cup of tea. "it will make you feel better."

Zuko took the tea and drank. He never thought he would be so happy for a cup of tea in all his life. The banished prince took one sip and immediately felt better. He handed the cup back to the figure, which he could now make out to be a man in an Earth Kingdom uniform.

"My name is Lang," the man greeted Zuko. "welcome to the Earth Kingdom army."

Lang appeared to be no older than Zuko. He had brown hair and looked like a common Earth Kingdom citizen.

"Lee" Zuko replied wearily. "My name's Lee"

"Good to meet you" Lang said reaching out and shaking Zuko's hand.

Zuko sat up and found that he was laying on a pile of sheets.

_Not much hospitality in the Earth army _Zuko thought dryly while he looked around the dark bleak room.

He stood up and Lang handed him an Earth Kingdom uniform, but Zuko pushed it away. "I'm not wearing that."

Lang shrugged, "Suit yourself, it's ten lashes though."

Zuko cringed as he grabbed the uniform.

ATLAB

It was morning and the sun was just coming up when Iroh had awakened. He felt bad about his little fight with Zuko the other night. He knew his nephew was having trouble adjusting to their new life in the great city of Ba Sing Se. Iroh knew as well, deep down that Zuko would have no life here.

Iroh yawned as he got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. He then got out his tea pot and kindling. Noticing that his spark rocks were still missing, Iroh shut the shutters. Then he took a twig between his fingers and a small red flame began to form on the twig. He laid it with the others and soon a small fire had started. He knew his nephew would give him grief about using fire bending, but tea was worth it.

"Zuko!" Iroh called, "It's time for breakfast." When he got no answer he walked over to Zuko's doors. He knocked. Still no answer. Iroh then opened the doors and found the room empty.

ATLAB

Zuko stood on deck of the Earth Kingdom Ship called "The Granite". After going out on to the deck, he and the other new recruits were divided into two groups, benders and non-benders. Zuko, of course went to the non-bender side.

A bump had formed on the back of the banished prince's head and he was sore all over. He looked down at the uniform he now wore. It was green, of course and had the symbol of the Earth Kingdom on it. His feet were bare, as is the custom for men of the Earth Kingdom Army. Zuko also wore the helmet of a Earth soldier.

_This is humiliating _Zuko thought bitterly, _good thing Azula is not here, this would give her license to mock me for the rest of my life. Which might not be too long if she does find me. Even Uncle Iroh would get a good laugh at seeing me in this uniform. _

Zuko and the other benders lined up as an officer began to speak. The officer paced back and forth. With his hands behind his back he began to speak.

"Men" he started, "You have an important duty to your nation, by protecting it from those fire breathing savages. That is why you must do anything, even give your life for the country you love." he paused for a moment, turning to face out into the bay. " We will be arriving at the training camp shortly. From there you will be given your orders. And remember it is important that you show no fear and no mercy because you will be shown none."

After he was done talking, Zuko and the other men headed below deck.

_What have I gotten into _Zuko thought wearily as he went below.

When he was below deck, he and the other recruits were handed a bowl of cabbage stew. After looking at the stew with disgust he sat down at an empty table and began to eat. He felt like he had never eaten before. Zuko was so busy slurping down the stew that he didn't notice that some of the men were gathering around him.

"So Lee, how did you get that scar?" Zuko almost choked on a piece of cabbage. He looked up to see Lang and a few others sitting at his table.

"None of your business" Zuko replied coldly.

"I mean you must have had a lot of great adventures," Lang continued, " so you bumped heads with a few fire benders?"

"A few"

Lang sighed. "Did they kill your parents?"

"Yes" Zuko answered, keeping his tone emotionless.

"They killed my father, after that my mother and I came to live in Ba Sing Se." Lang lowered his voice. "We were there ever since, I waited until I was old enough to join the army and avenge my father's death."

Zuko was moved by Lang's story, but it was so much like all the other stories he had heard through his travels. After that, the other men introduced themselves and told their own horror story of their experiences with the "evil" Fire Nation. Until Zuko could bear it no longer. So he got up silently and left.

"Lee" Lang called after him, "Where are you going?" but Zuko already disappeared up the stairs.

Out on the deck Zuko stood peering off the side of the ship. He could see the seaport in which they would be docking in only a few moments.

_Why do theses things happen to me? _he thought frustrated. He could remember the words that he had spoken just weeks ago. _I want the Avatar, I want my honor, my throne, I want my father not to think I am worthless… _All of that seemed so distant now, as if it was hard enough being scarred, banished, considered a traitor and now on the verge of actually becoming one. _It wasn't fair, but of course my life never was._

The Banished prince was soon taken out of his thoughts "I'm sorry, Lee I did not mean to bring up painful memories." Lang now stood beside Zuko. "Your scar is nothing to be ashamed of, as far as I am concerned its a badge of honor."

Zuko snorted. "I am sure it is."

"Listen, all those things are behind us" Lang said, "we need to look to the future and make the best of things."

"I guess you're right." Zuko said.

Lang smiled, "It's just about time to dock, we better go below with the others."

"Alright, I will be there in a minute" Zuko called after Lang, after he disappeared below. The banished prince stood looking out into the water. _My honor, my throne, I want it all. _He silently vowed. _I will get it all back, somehow. _

**Next chapter is called "The battle of Serpents Pass"**


	3. The Battle of Serpent’s Pass

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender **

Battle of Serpent's Pass

Chapter 3

The Earth Kingdom camp was surprisingly basic. It was made of all earth, the tents, the walls, everything. After the first two days of training, Zuko's feet were extremely sore. After long marches in the hot sun, they were then trained in using a spear, which is the weapon of a common Earth Kingdom, non-bending soldier. Each soldier was fed three meals a day, the meals were better than living off the land, but not quite as good as living in Ba Sing Se.

Zuko had tried to stay exclusive from the rest of the army, even his own unit. But to his dismay he found that it was almost impossible to escape all the questions of his past the other soldiers began to ask. Zuko's unit consisted of himself, Lang and a few others. At first Zuko was suspicious that Lang was on the same ship as he was and now in the same unit, but he waved it off as a coincidence.

The leader of his unit was Captain Loam, Loam was a man with a grudge. He hated the Fire Nation with a passion and was excited about the news that he and his unit were being sent off to join the main army.

"Today is the day we are going to join the rest of the Earth Kingdom Army," Loam started. "We will be traveling through the Serpents Pass." He paused to see the rest of the unit's reaction, as they sat on the ground before him, listening intently. "I know what you must be thinking. 'That the Serpents Pass is a deadly route that very few have survived,' but the Fire Nation has control of the pass and they are closing in on Full Moon Bay. Our job is to clear out Serpents Pass before we reunite with the army. Any questions?" Loam paused. "No questions? Good we will be moving out at noon."

Later that day Zuko stood on a large Earth Kingdom ship. He could not believe it, they were being shipped out so soon? Zuko _had _noticed that they seemed to be the only unit moving out this early.

_It must have been the work of the Dai Li. _Zuko thought. _I didn't even have time to find a way to escape, that is if there was a way. _

Now he was on an Earth Kingdom battle ship on the way to take Serpents Pass and protect Full Moon Bay. Long Feng sure did not waste any time in getting rid of him.

The calm water rippled as the Earth Kingdom ship glided across the lake. It was silent, the silence before battle, it was unnerving. Zuko could see three Fire Navy ships ahead of them, not a bad number unless you counted the fact that they were only one Earth Kingdom ship, and there was the sea monster to worry about.

This was a suicide mission and Zuko knew it. There was no way they were going to be able to defeat three Fire Navy ships with only a single Earth Kingdom ship. The Fire Nation had a more powerful navy and better weapons. Having many factories in the his homeland made the Fire Nation the most technology advanced country in the world.

As Zuko stood on deck, the familiar scent of smoke filled the air as a fire ball was launched and flew towards the ship. The ball crashed through the floor boards of the deck. With cries and screams, men flew in every direction. Other men with buckets of water rushed forward and quickly doused the fire. Captain Loam shouted his orders as the ship was thrown into complete chaos.

More fire balls were launched as Zuko and the other men ran in every direction, trying to get to their posts. Then at the same time the order was given for the Earth Benders to return fire. Boulders that were placed on the sides of the ship were hurled across the bay. Not doing much to the metal ships, but it sent the Fire Navy soldiers into a state of panic as a shower of boulders landed on the deck, crushing anything or anyone that was in its way.

The Fire Navy ships continued to bombard the Earth Kingdom ship as the lead Fire ship advanced. The fire balls landed on both sides Earth ship, each one of them missing their mark as they crashed harmlessly into the bay. The ships kept advancing towards each other. Then with a jolt, Zuko was thrown off balance as they collided with a Fire Navy ship. Gripping his spear he stood up.

As the Fire Navy soldiers rushed aboard the Earth Kingdom ship, a fierce battle began. Zuko stabbed at a Fire Navy soldier who side stepped the spear and sent a fire blast towards the Banished Prince. Zuko easily ducked the blast and sent his spear into the soldier's shoulder. The man went down, wounded..

Prince Zuko looked up in time to see another soldier rush towards him. Zuko took that man out then turned his attention to the rest of the battle. Earth Benders sent the smaller boulders, which were place in piles around the ship towards the advancing Fire Navy soldiers. The other two Fire Navy ships stopped firing, for fear of hitting their own.

The battle continued as Zuko continued to fight his way through, with only a spear. He knew very little about using the weapon, but he could defend against one in at least six different ways. Lang and the other men seemed to be doing just fine with their spears, but Zuko still would have preferred his duel swords.

He took out one Fire Soldier, but his spear was sliced in half by an incoming blade. Now unarmed, Zuko dodged anther swing of the sword then grabbed it's wielder and tossed him over board. Picking up the fallen soldier's sword, Zuko blocked another swordsmen's attack and quickly disarmed him.

Then something caught the Banished Prince's eye. Out in the bay, a large snake like body wrapped itself around one of the two Fire Navy ships, crushing it and then sent it down to the bottom of the bay. A large green serpent rose out of the water, the other Fire Navy ship sent a fire ball towards the creature only to share the same fate as the first ship a few moments later .

The battle around Zuko seemed to pause for a moment as the soldiers noticed the horror that happened only a few yards away from them. The serpent disappeared beneath the water. The men aboard the two remaining ships waited in silence, momentarily forgetting their differences. The Serpent brushed up against the side of the Earth Kingdom ship, making it rock back and forth. Zuko grabbed hold of the railing, catching himself.

The serpent rose out of the bay and crashed its massive body onto both the ships. A few spears and rocks were hurled at the serpent, harmlessly bouncing off the creature's hard scaly skin. With one squeezing motion from the serpent's body, the Fire ship was sunk, while the Earth Kingdom ship was reduced to splinters.

When Zuko emerged from the water, he saw that the ships were gone. All that remained were a few boards which floated on top of the water. There were some survivors who quickly swam to a piece of floating wood.

The serpent's attack seemed to be over, and Zuko hoped it would not return. As he swam towards a nearby board something slimy brushed past his exposed foot. The Banished Prince gripped the sword, he realized he still held in his hand.

The serpent was still here and Zuko hoped that it was not hungry for men. Then as if on cue the giant serpent burst out of the sea. Water sprayed everywhere as the creature let out a loud screech. The men in the water, Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom alike shuddered in fear at the sound. The serpent dove head first into the water, just missing Zuko, but the momentum of the dive caused him to sink beneath the surface. Now far beneath the bay, Zuko held his breath and opened his eyes.

He gasped for air, Zuko was under the water way to long. He could see the serpent pass just in front of him, the massive body clearly visible in the clear water. The Banished Fire prince closed his eyes, feeling the heat of the sun through the surface of the bay. Using Fire Bending, he gathered enough heat until his sword began to glow red. Then when the serpent was close enough Zuko swung the sword, cutting a large gash through the serpent's hard scaly body.

Prince Zuko hurried to the top of the water as dark red blood began to seep slowly out of the serpent. The creature sunk deeper into the bay as the Banished Prince surfaced. The blood from the serpent made the water dark and hard to swim. Zuko had to struggled to stay on top. Soon exhaustion over took him and he began to sink back under the water.

When it seemed that all hope was lost, a strong hand grabbed Zuko and pulled him up out of the water. Captain Loam and Lang struggled to pull the exhausted prince onto their wooden raft made from part of the ship.

"Are you ok?" Lang asked worried.

Zuko was breathing hard, he had been under the water more than his lungs could take. Even more than the time at the North Pole.

"Yeah," he managed to gasp. "I think so."

"Good," Loam said approvingly. "We will need a good man like you to defeat the Fire Nation."

_Great,_ Zuko thought sarcastically

"What happened down there?" Lang asked, while peering over the raft at the dark bloodied water.

"I killed the serpent." Zuko answered, now trying to sit up.

Lang rolled his eyes. "I know that, what I want to know is how you killed it."

The Banished Prince looked over at the sword he held in his hand. "With this," he said, holding it up. "The serpent had a soft underbelly."

"Lucky for us," Lang said, dryly. Then turning to the captain he asked. "What are our orders now, Captain?"

"We will follow through with our original orders and meet up with the main army, but first we must get out of this bay of blood and see if any of the other recruits survived the battle."

After long paddling in the water they soon reached the sandy shores. Zuko lay down in the sand, glad that one nightmare was over but knowing more were sure to come.

**To be continued… **


	4. The Earth Camp

**Sorry it took so long for me to post it.**

"The Earth Camp"

Chapter 4

The afternoon sun shone overhead, it was hot, too hot, even for a Fire Bender. Zuko trudged on, it had only been a few hours since he killed the sea Serpent and freed the Serpent's Pass of the Fire Nation. It was weird how in only two days time, he would be thinking of his homeland as 'the Fire Nation', after all it was still his home, wasn't it?

Zuko, Lang and their commanding officer, Captain Loam continued their hike through the blazing desert. The banished prince had only a moment or two of rest before Loam pushed them to move on. Even when nearly their entire unit had been destroyed by the Serpent and the Fire Navy ships, Loam would not give up.

Escape seemed impractical, even though Zuko could easily defeat both Loam and Lang, the desert that they traveled in was relentless. When or if he got away from them, Zuko would have most certainly died from heat and lack of water. He knew how dangerous it could be traveling in the desert.

"Sir" Lang asked, breathlessly "What if there were more survivors?"

"They know their orders" Captain Loam said, while wiping a drop of sweat away from his eye. "They'll meet us at the camp."

At this point Zuko did not really care about their orders or anything like that. He would be happy when this was all over.

"How much farther." Lang complained.

Loam took out his map and replied. "About two miles before we see the walls of the camp." He rolled the map up and put it away.

_Two miles? I guess it's not that bad, I have faced worse. Uncle and I traveled farther than that on no food and no water. I wonder what my uncle is doing right now? probably worried sick, _Zuko thought while the three continued on.

ATLAB

Zuko had been gone for almost three days and Iroh was getting worried. He had hoped that his nephew just wanted to be by himself for awhile. But three days was way too long, he knew Zuko had learned his lesson a while ago about being on his own.

Something was definitely wrong. Zuko was so upset about him bringing up the fact that capturing the Avatar would, in all likelihood not help Zuko's situation with his father. It certainly did not help his nephew's attitude towards the whole thing.

Iroh knew his brother well, and he never regretted anything. He also suspected from the very beginning of his nephew's banishment, that things would never be the same. Now it seemed that Ozai never expected his son to return home with or without the Avatar.

It was now the mid-day rush at Pal's Tea shop and the tea shop was bustling and busy. Iroh waited on tables, taking the customer's orders one after another.

"Sir" One customer called out." May I have a refill" he said waving his empty tea cup."

"Just one moment!" Iroh shouted back while trying to balance a pile of empty tea cups and the tea pot. He struggled through the crowd until he came to the counter. Iroh set the tea cups down and turned back to pour the man his tea. But he was quickly interrupted by a women who called out,

"Sir may I have the Jasmine Tea, please"

"I'll be right with you" he said to her, but by then he was bombarded with many orders.

_This is too much_, Iroh thought _I need to find my nephew. That is the priority, tea will need to wait._

"Mushi!" His boss, Pal called out, while handling some of his own customers. "I need you to clean tables eight and nine" he paused to listen to someone's order. "Where is Lee!" he shouted out frustrated. "This is the third day he missed this week."

"I don't know!" Iroh shouted, while ignoring some unhappy customer's order, "but I am going to find him." With that Iroh put down the tea and threw his apron to the ground. He began walking towards the door when Pal called out,

"Mushi if you leave…" Iroh paused at the door way. " you… you're fired." He finally said it. But Iroh did not care. Finding Zuko was more important than his job. Then with that he disappeared out the door, leaving Pal with a lot of unhappy customers.

ATLAB

The hot sand burned Zuko's feet as the prince continued on. They were nearing the main camp of the Earth Kingdom Army. In a normal situation the banished Fire prince might have felt a little nervous about entering a camp with thousands of Earth Benders just waiting for their chance to take out a Fire Bender. But this was definitely not an ordinary day. Zuko would just be glad when he had a chance just to sit down and relax.

The trio soon came to the wall surrounding the encampment. Two soldiers stood guarding the entrance.

"State your business" One guard said roughly.

"We are what's left of Unit 77" Loam said. "Our orders were to take Serpents Pass, then to meet up with the main army here and await further orders."

"Open the gate" the guard called out. Then with some earth bending the gate slid open.

"General Salto is expecting you" the other guard said after they were led through.

This Earth camp was nothing like the training camp that Zuko had been at only hours before, this one was much bigger and grander than the fire prince had expected.

As they were led through the camp, Zuko could feel the eyes of every soldier on them. He wondered if they some how sensed that he was a Fire Bender.

_Now I am just being paranoid_ Zuko assured himself. _No one here knows who I am._

They were led to an Earth building where Zuko assumed the General awaited them. As they stepped through the doorway and into the room, General Salto stood up from his desk.

"Greetings survivors of the 77th. I welcome you to the camp of the Earth Kingdom army." Salto said, as he bowed to them. "As I am sure you know, I am General Salto." He paused to stroke his long beard. "I am surprised that only three of you survived the encounter with only one small Fire Navy ship…"

"Sir, if I may interrupt" Loam said, when the general nodded he continued. "There were three Fire Navy ships, not one. Plus we had to get by the serpent as well."

"That's strange." General Salto said, sitting back down in his chair, "Our intelligence report from Ba Sing Se reported that there was only one small Fire Navy ship and it would be a minor mission." He paused, a confused look covering his face. "It must have been a miscommunication," he said waving it off. "But I am glad that you three have survived because we just received word from Ba Sing Se that the 77th is needed for a new mission."

Zuko stood beside Loam, and Lang stood on the other side of the captain, as General Salto opened a map and pointed to a place in the desert.

"A few months ago a battalion of Earth Kingdom soldiers were captured during battle, it will be your job to rescue them."

"How do you know they are still alive?" Captain Loam asked.

" We don't know, that's why you will be infiltrating the Fire Nation army," the General said.

"Sir, what about Full Moon bay? That will still need protecting" Lang spoke up.

"I am aware of that situation and I am sending two full battalions to protect it. You three are most needed for this mission. Since you are so few, I will be sending with you two of our most powerful Earth benders as well as a weapons expert. We have received word that a small group of Fire Benders are moving weapons through this road." He pointed to a road on the map. "What we need you to do is take out the Fire benders"

"Do you want us to destroy the weapons?" Lang asked

"Of coarse not" General Salto said, "Do not compromise this mission for any reason. You will be taking the Fire Bender's place. After you get into the Fire camp it will be up to you how you free the prisoners and get them back to the camp. You will be sent out first thing in the morning, that is the time the weapons will be moved. Good luck."

After the General was done talking they began to exit the General's quarters. Lang and Captain Loam had disappeared out the door when the General turned to Zuko.

"Is your name Lee?" he asked and Zuko nodded. "It seems that you made some very powerful friends in Ba Sing Se. I was requested to personally see if you survived the battle."

"Well wasn't that nice of them" Zuko said sarcastically and then exited the tent. _The Dai Li is manipulating the army? _Zuko thought, _I'm going to need to be more careful_. He hoped this mission was not going to be another 'miscommunication'.

**Chapter 5 is coming soon. I usually try to post within 2 weeks. (or when ever I come out of shock from the season 2 finale) **


	5. The Rescue Begins

**The Rescue Begins **

Chapter 5

The cool morning air grazed Zuko's face as he and his companions continued on a dirt road. The road then would lead through a canyon and than intersect with the road the Fire Benders would be traveling. The six Earth kingdom soldiers walked because the army could not spare a single Ostrich-horse for this mission.

Zuko's three new companions consisted of two brothers Jin-lo and Kin-lo. They were both highly skilled earth benders and the weapons expert was a large ruff looking man by the name of Katso. The six Earth Kingdom soldiers were dressed in civilian clothes with no weapons visible. Zuko along with the non-benders Lang and Katso each had a knife hidden away in their clothing. The Earth benders were unarmed because of their bending.

This was going to be a nightmare and Zuko knew it. It would not surprise him if Azula gave a description of him to every officer and soldier in the whole Fire Nation army. His only hope would be to hide his face behind one of the faceless helmets of the Fire Benders.

_Long Feng is going to pay for this _Zuko thought, angrily as they continued along the path.

ATLAB

The warm green glow of the fire filled the room as Long Feng sat thinking about his plans with the Earth King and the war. It was not easy running the greatest city in the world, even though no one ever knew it. As if he did not have enough problems, now he had to deal with the Avatar. That boy was constantly trying to ruin his plans.

"Long Feng, sir?" he was taken out of his thoughts by one of his Dai Li agents. "If I may interrupt" He paused, waiting for Long Feng's approval, when it was granted he continued. "The boy Lee, has made it through Serpent's Pass and is now continuing on another mission just as you ordered"

"Good" Long Feng said, flatly. Normally he would not waste his time watching a young man's progress in the military but there was something different about Lee.

When Long Feng noticed the Dai Li agent still stood in front of him he asked. "Is there more?"

"Yes Sir" the agent answered, "The boy's uncle has started his search for his nephew."

"Well isn't that interesting" Long Feng replied, it was not unexpected. He knew Lee had an uncle in Ba Sing Se. He was not a serious threat. Mushi was just an old Tea maker.

"What are we to do about him" The agent asked "do you want us to arrest him and take him to Lake Liogai?"

"No" Long Feng answered, much to the surprise of the agent. "Do you really think an old man could be a serious threat?" The agent did not answer, "Even so, I want you to keep an eye on him"

The Dai Li agent nodded and left the room.

ATLAB

The early morning sun had just risen and there still was no sign of any Fire Nation activity. Loam tapped his finger nervously against his knee, he had not forgotten what had happened at Serpent's Pass. The news of a miscommunication had deeply disturbed him. Zuko had thought nothing of it, he knew the Dai Li was behind it. A military that had lasted through a hundred year war did not survive on 'miscommunications.' He might not know as much about military activity as Azula but he knew that much.

Lang on the other hand did not seemed fazed by Serpent's Pass or the dangerous mission they now were attempting to accomplish. Zuko had his suspicions of him from the beginning, it was only natural to him. He never really trusted any one, except his uncle but he needed to trust Lang and the rest for now.

The 77th were now hiding behind desert bushes, which lined the side of the road. Zuko, Loam and Lang crouched behind the bushes on one side while rest of the unit stayed hidden on the other side.

They were crouched there for almost an hour and Zuko's legs began to cramp and feel very sore. It felt like the moment would never come, when he heard a bird call from across the road. It was the signal to get ready, Zuko peered through the bushes. He could see the oncoming Fire soldier coming down the dirt road. There were four benders, each rode komodo rhinos, two in the front and two in the back. Two non-benders, wielding spears were steering the wagon, which was also drawn by a rhino. The lead Fire bender rode out in front.

When the Fire Soldiers were upon them, Loam made a rock wall in front of the Fire benders, cutting off their path. Then one of the brothers cut off their escape with another rock wall. The rhinos reared and threw off their riders as Loam took out the lead Fire bender with a boulder he hurled from the ground, while Zuko jumped from behind his bush, knocking another soldier to the ground.

The Fire soldier sent a fire blast towards Zuko, which he easily dodged. The banished prince held his knife ready for attack. He ran towards the soldier, dodging constant fire blasts before Zuko was upon him and tackled him to the ground. He held his knife at the soldier's throat and pinned him to the ground.

The rest of the unit had finished their battle with very little injuries although Lang suffered a minor burn to the arm. That would compromise their mission if it was not properly treated. Captain Loam walked up behind Zuko as well as the others.

"Come on Lee" Katso said roughly, "Kill him and let's get moving."

"No" Zuko answered, "He can give us information."

"What information could he possibly give us?" Katso asked

"You think the Fire Nation doesn't have codes and information that we will need?" The rest of the unit gave each other looks. "Let me talk to him, let's see if I could get something out of him." Zuko continued.

"Fine" Loam said and than said to the rest of the unit, "Lee might be on to something."

"Soldier" Zuko said, getting the man's attention. "What was your mission and what was the name of your commanding officer?"

The man did not answer.

"Try to understand," Zuko started, trying another approach. " I am trying to save your life," He said trying to get on the man's good side, "we have a mission to complete." The man did not move, his eyes were averted from Zuko's face and the cold blade of steel that was still held at his throat. "The only way we can let you live, is if you give us anything that will be remotely useful."

The man started to say something, when he stopped. His eyes grew wide as he peered at the face of Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Zuko realized the man had recognized him and for a sheer moment of terror he thought his life would be over.

"You?!" The man let out of sheer surprise and disbelief, but he was silenced by Zuko swinging fist.

"What did you do that for?" Lang blurted out, while the brothers Kin-lo and Jin-lo and the rest stared in disbelief. "He recognized you?"

"I never saw that man in my life." Zuko said, which was really true he had never seen that man before.

"What ever" Loam said, interfering before the tension got to high. "We don't even know that man even recognized Lee, it could have been a coincidence."

"Then why was Lee so eager to shut him up." Katso said, jumping into the conversation. "I am not willing to serve with any one who is connected to those fire breathing savages." he turned from Loam and said to Zuko. " are you sure it doesn't have anything to do with your 'mysterious' scar?"

That was enough, Zuko could feel his anger rising. It was not enough that these men could talk about him like he wasn't even here. Then bringing up his scar was the last straw.

"What ever happened in my past is my business and no one else's!" Zuko said coldly, "especially not to some old common Earth Kingdom soldier."

Apparently Katso had a worse temper than the banished prince of the Fire Nation, because when Zuko was done with his rant, Katso lunged himself at Zuko with his knife held high. Zuko however tossed his knife aside. He would give this man a lesson.

Katso swung his knife at Zuko who easily dodged the first swing, but the second cut a slice in his peasant clothing. The banished prince stepped back from Katso's next strike letting the knife graze by his side before he grabbed the angry Earth Kingdom soldier's wrist and wrenched the knife from his grip. Then Zuko sent Katso to the ground with a hard kick in the side.

The man was up again ready to finish the fight, but they were interrupted by Loam.

"That's enough!." He shouted, "this is bordering on treason. Whatever differences we have, this is not the way to work it out. We are a team now and we will need to work together to complete our mission."

Katso reluctantly stood down, giving Zuko an angry glance as he walked over to a disabled Fire Soldier and started to remove his armor and clothing. The rest of the soldiers followed his lead. Zuko found a masked helmet and donned the man's uniform.

When they were ready Zuko and Loam mounted the two Komodo Rhinos in front while Lang and Katso rode the two in back. Jin- lo steered the cart, while Kin-lo hid in the back with the weapons. Their plan was, since they had un-even numbers with the Fire benders, one of them would need to hide in the back and once they would get into camp he would need to go unnoticed until the prisoners were located.

Zuko and the disguised Earth Kingdom soldiers continued down the road until the Fire Nation Army was in sight. Komodo Rhinos were not the easiest beasts to ride, but Zuko had experience with them. Unlike the others who continuously fell off, Zuko could have ridden with ease, but to help throw suspicions Zuko fell off every once in awhile to help blend in.

It was not long before they could see the landscape filled with millions upon millions of red tents that bore the insignia of the Fire Nation.

_Here we go _Zuko thought as the group continued to the enemy camp.

**Authors Note: Sorry it took so long! **


	6. The Rescue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender**

**The Rescue **

Chapter 6

The uneasiness that crept into Zuko's stomach the moment he stepped into the Fire Nation Camp would just not go away. Every moment he felt he was under the watchful eye of every Fire Nation soldier in the whole Fire Nation army. Any soldier could probably pick out his face from a mile away. All he needed to do was keep his face hidden and everything would work out ok, just like he did at the North Pole.

But No, Zuko had to remind himself. This was different, much different. When he was on Zhao's ship, if any soldier recognized him, he could be easily persuaded to look the other way. That was when he was still royalty whether he was banished or not. Now, he was branded a traitor and if he was recognized, this time he would be eating the fire balls instead of giving them out.

Surprisingly they were given little trouble entering the camp. Their cart was checked and that was it. Kin-lo had hidden in a barrel and is now currently scouting out the camp for any sign of the prisoners. Kin-lo disappeared for the first day and Zuko was starting to wonder if something happened to him. The first day in the camp was probably the hardest, it took awhile to get used to the rhythm of an ordinary day of a common Fire Nation soldier.

Compared to the Earth army the Fire Nation was much greater and more organized. Zuko always believed that the Fire Nation army was superior to any in the world and now he saw that it was true. Tanks were lined up in rows and swords, spears as well as other weapon were being continually produced. Soldiers were constantly being trained in fire bending or whatever weapon they preferred.

The soldiers in the camp never rested which was not a surprise to Zuko, when he and his unit were to be shipped out the very next morning. They were to carry weapons and food to a fleet of Fire Navy ships some where near Ba Sing Se. Kin-lo would need to hurry if their mission was to be a success.

Later the same night before they were to be sent out, Zuko and the rest were sitting around a camp fire silently eating their meals when a masked Fire Bender sat down next to Zuko. Startled, when the banished prince realized he was not wearing his mask he turned his head to shield his scarred face from the eyes of the soldier.

Much to everyone's surprise, after the man sat down he made him self at home. He reached out and grabbed the pan of frying food and dished it onto his plate. Not sure how to react the Earth soldiers just stared at each other until Jin-lo was the first to speak.

"Hey, you fat Hog-monkey are going to share or what?" he said laughing after he recognized his brother.

Zuko's confusion went away when he saw the soldier removed his skull mask, revealing the bearded face of Kin-lo.

Smiling back the other brother spoke. "Hey, I haven't eaten all day while you and the others were lying around having a vacation."

"So what did you find out?" Loam said cutting to the chase, "we don't have time for fooling around, we're being sent out tomorrow morning."

"Ouch" Kin-lo replied, his mouth full of the fried food, (what ever it was). "Because what I've seen will take a lot more time than one night."

"That's all we have."

"Well then, I guess I better fill you boys in." Kin-lo said taking another bite, "But I must worn you it's not a pretty sight, they have hundreds of war prisoners and not all of them are warriors. In fact most of them seem to be ordinary peasants."

"What about the men we need to rescue?" Katso spoke for the first time, since they entered the camp. "They should be the priority."

"The battalion is significantly smaller, I made contact with one of the remaining soldiers, he told me that the Earth Benders were taken out to sea somewhere. While now it's just him and a few others." Kin-lo paused to shove more of the fried food into his mouth. "but I must worn you, they are in no condition to make a fast escape. That is if it should come to that."

"How many guards?" Loam asked.

"There are four guard posts each with a single guard, but I can assure you if there is a problem we will be having fire balls for supper instead of this fried food. There's only one entrance, a gate that is guarded by two guards."

"Hmm" Loam said thoughtfully, "If there was another way out, it would make our job that much easier."

"We could make another entrance, I found a whole stock of blasting jelly in a warehouse not too far from the guarded area."

Lang smiled "that should come in handy…"

ATLAB

Iroh had been searching for days and still had no leads on where Zuko had gotten to. It was hard, ever since they arrived in Ba Sing Se they tried to stay as discreet as possible. So far he had absolutely no leads on his missing nephew. However he had noticed men following him. They were dressed in green robes. The two men have been following him ever since he started his search.

They were professional, that Iroh was sure of. But no one could spy on the Dragon of the West with out him knowing about it. They were the least of his problems. He needed to find Zuko and fast. So far when everyone he talked to got a glimpse of the men in green, they either avoided his questions or just politely wished him luck on his search while turning down any help they might have had to offer.

Now he was sure that the men who have been following him were the key to finding Zuko. He needed to ask them some questions.

Iroh walked down the street, it was nearing dusk and the two men kept a consistent distance behind him. Iroh took a few more steps before he broke out into a full on sprint.

The agents who were following him were startled by the old man's sudden burst of speed, but regained themselves before they rushed after him. Seeing him duck into an alley the two Di Lai agents followed.

They turned the corner to find him gone. The old man had vanished, the agents could not believe it. No, wait, it was too late before the he came out of hiding, trapping the two agents within the alley.

"Hello" Iroh said kindly to the agents, "Were you looking for someone, perhaps you could come over and have some tea at my shop? It's on the house."

"Sir," one of the agents started. "We are agents of the Di Lai and I am afraid you are under arrest."

With that two other agents appeared from behind and rock cuffed Iroh while the other two grabbed him by the arms and led him out of the alley. Unnoticed to the agents was a small grin crept on to Iroh's face.

ATLAB

Zuko and Lang walked side by side through the darkened camp, until they came to a small metal warehouse which held the blasting jelly they needed to complete their mission. Zuko still wore the fire bender uniform and mask while Lang now wore an officer's uniform they borrowed earlier that same night. It was nearing midnight and most of the soldiers turned in for the night.

Two sleepy soldiers stood guarding the entrance. They woke up instantly as the two men approached.

"State your business" the one soldier said gripping his sword.

"I am Captain Loku, here to retrieve you men for a briefing" Lang said, trying to sound as official as possible.

The guards just looked at each other, obviously not buying it. Time for "plan B". Before the men could do or say anything, Zuko grabbed the one, throwing him hard to the ground knocking him unconscious. The other Fire guard drew his sword but was not fast enough before the banished prince twisted the sword out of his hands and sent him to the ground with a hard punch to the face.

The startled look on Lang's face was replaced by a smile.

"Nice one, Lee" Lang said giving him a pat on the back as he walked over and started to unlock the door with keys they also liberated with the uniform.

Iroh had once told Zuko, "_Fire bending is a great power, but if a time comes when you needed to go with out that power you need all skills not just a bending art." _

At the time, the young angry banished prince dismissed it as another useless lesson but now he could see how many of his Uncle's lessons that seemed useless at the time, actually turned out to be good advice.

He came back to reality as Lang opened the doors and they stepped inside. The room was dark, with no lamps or any way to see what lay ahead. They waited until their eyes adjusted to the darkness before they could make out faint blurs which appeared to be barrels of blasting jelly.

Crouching down, Lang whispered "Two of these barrels should make a nice hole in the wall." He laid one barrel over on its side and rolled it out. Zuko started for another barrel, but stopped when he noticed broad swords, surprisingly similar to his old ones on a shelf nearby . They were stuck in a clutter of weapons and empty barrels, Zuko pulled the twin blades out of the clutter. Looking at them for a second before he was interrupted by Lang.

"Hurry up Lee!" He whispered, "we don't have all night."

Tucking them quickly in his belt he rolled the second barrel out into the night. Zuko and Lang met the others under a tree which stood just out side the metal wall.

"Good, you got them" Loam said turning to Zuko and Lang as they came into their circle.

"No problem" Lang replied.

"I made contact with their leader again" Kin-lo said quietly, "they'll be ready when the time is right."

"Good" Loam replied, "Your brother should be here with the cart at any second."

Now that Zuko noticed it, he realized that Jin-lo was nowhere to be seen.

"Don't worry" Kin-lo explained, "He's hiding in the woods not far from here. He thinks the blast will scare the rhino."

"Ok," Katso said, "let's get this over with."

With that they silently set to work placing the Jelly. After they were done they met back at the tree. Lang lit the trail and they all covered their ears and ducked behind the safety of the thick tree.

The silence was broken by the blast, which was followed by hot metal shards flying in all directions. After the smoke cleared six figures emerged from the smoke. They hobbled towards the tree, the stronger ones trying to support their weaker comrades. Zuko and the rest rushed forward to help the injured men out of the walls.

Jin-lo came forward with the cart which was then quickly loaded with passengers. The young man Zuko helped onto the cart looked slightly familiar, but he would worry about that later. The guards on duty were shaken alert by the blast and now were shouting out orders.

The last of the men loaded into the cart just as the Fire Benders assembled. Jin-lo whipped the rhino with the reigns and it hurried forward. The Fire Benders shot fire balls at them, missing them and only making the rhino go faster.

"Let them go!" Zuko heard one of the officers shout, "keep the others from escaping!"

By this time all the other captives were waking up and starting for the hole. The soldiers formed a wall, keeping them inside. The sight of the prisoners trying to escape slowly faded as they disappeared into the safety of the darkened woods.

**Author's Note: Wow! It's been a long time, but thanks for those who have been patient with me. I will finish this story, but it might take a while. Any way in my next chapter I am going to add a character into this story that was only mentioned in Avatar, but I thought it would be cool if Zuko would meet him. **


	7. A New Friend and a Old Enemy

A New Friend and a Old Enemy

Chapter 7

The night was long for the young banished prince, he could not sleep because of the constant jerks of the wagon as well as other reasons. Zuko knew the time was soon going to come when he needed to rethink his life. Whatever destiny lay ahead, he felt that his father would never truly except him and that Azula is a liar who would like nothing more than to see their father lock him up in the palace dungeons forever. He still could not believe that he had listened to her before when she told him he could go home. It had been a trap and he would not fall for her tricks again.

Hours passed without sleep before the wagon came to a stop. The morning sun was just coming over the horizon and the light shone through the distance between the trees. Zuko was the first out of the wagon, glad for a chance to stretch his legs. Besides, it was really beginning to smell in the wagon. Wondering why the sudden pause in their trip, the banished prince walked around the side until he came to where Jin-lo sat in the driver's seat.

He probably looked just as bad as Zuko himself because he also stayed up all night.

"Why did we stop?" Zuko asked the tired Earth Bender.

Jin-lo yawned and replied. "Look up ahead, the path gets narrower and more crowded with branches. We won't fit."

Now that he looked Zuko saw it too, there was no way a wagon of this size was going to fit through. By this time the other Earth soldiers were waking up and coming around to see what the problem was. After Jin-lo explained the situation to them, they went to work quickly trying to find the solution.

Some suggested clearing the path but then they realized it would take too long and the Fire Nation was probably going to start looking for them After much discussion, it was decided that they would send one person to see what lay ahead. Naturally they chose Kin-lo, who was a natural spy and scout.

It was not long after Kin-lo left, that one of the men they had rescued got out of the wagon. He was the man Zuko thought he recognized, the banished prince should have been a little more worried that this man recognized him and he was, but what was he going to do?

"What's going on?" He asked, the man had dark brown hair. He was tall and thin. His sunken cheeks look as if he had not tasted food for quite awhile. The man also walked with a slight limp."

"We have a short delay," Loam replied "Are your men in any condition to walk? That is if we need to."

"I'm afraid not" The man answered. "Most of us haven't had a decent meal in a very long time."

After Loam heard this, he sent Zuko and the rest in to the woods to find food. They did not need to travel long before they found Fire Nation traps filled with different kinds of animals. When they returned to the wagon they killed and skinned the animals. They soon had them roasting over a roaring fire.

They helped the weakened soldiers they had rescued the night before out of the wagon. The starving Earth soldiers went to work eating the food. They ate so much, so fast that Zuko was starting to wonder if they were going to eat themselves to death. But thankfully none of them seemed to have starved that much. After they had enough, they soon got acquainted with each other. Zuko paid little attention to the first five names, but the last one got his attention.

The sixth held out his hand "My name's Sen-Su, but please just call me Sen." he said, Zuko was too stunned to say anything at first but quickly recovered.

_He couldn't be the same Sen-Su, the brother of the little peasant boy, Li? _The young boy's words still rang in his head."I hate you!" he had said after Zuko had rescued him and found out the banished Prince's true identity. But than Zuko saw the resemblance, Sen-Su was like a teenage version of Li.

"Lee" Zuko said taking the young man's hand. "My names' Lee"

"Really?" Sen-Su replied. "My brother's name is Li."

When Zuko said nothing Sen continued. "You know just last month, I and my entire battalion was captured. We were sent to the front line dressed in Fire Nation uniforms. Once the battle began we were getting killed by both sides, I was one of the few who survived. That was the reason I was promoted, but after that my father came and tried to pull me out of the army, but I refused to go. In return he told me about an unnamed stranger with a scar over his eye who protected my brother and my family from the thugs. He couldn't be you, could he?"

"I…" Zuko started but could not finish, clearly Sen-Su's father did not know about Zuko revealing himself to the entire town.

"If you are, thank you" Sen said, interrupting Zuko before he could continue.

All awhile the rest of the soldiers were listening intently to Sen-Su's story. They were all silent until Lang spoke.

"That only adds to the mysteries surrounding Lee" He said dryly. "So you're some kind of hero Lee? Well that takes renegade soldier off your list."

Normally Zuko would have taken issue with that comment, but he felt different some how. He knew his experiences were slowly changing him, but in what way he had yet to learn. They sat around the camp fire talking and exchanging war stories until they were interrupted by a movement in the woods. Soon a red uniformed soldier appeared from the covering of trees.

Loam didn't think, he just reacted, like so many years of war had taught him. He stood up and raised a rock out of the ground, he hurled it at the soldier with lightning fast speed. The startled man saw and dodged the rock just in time as it crashed into the tree behind him.

"Not quite the welcome I hoped for," Kin-lo said, dryly after the rocked crashed behind him.

Loam was not sure how to react, he could relax a little now that he knew they were in no danger. But on the other hand he almost killed one of his own. That he could never forgive himself for.

"That's what happens when you wear the enemy's colors." Loam said, annoyed. As he looked down he realized he as well as the others were still wearing their Fire nation costumes.

"I know, but we'll still need them." Kin-lo said as he sat down, then realizing they had some food. He changed subject and said "Every time I leave, you guys eat. What's up with that?"

"Why do we still need to wear these dragon colors?." Katso demanded as he looked down with a disgusted look upon his face.

"Because about a mile up the road there is a town." Kin-lo explained, " I think it was once an Earth Kingdom town but it is now taken by the Fire Nation. My guess is that the towns people treat soldiers like gods, they'll give us anything we want."

"That's perfect" Loam said, and they started developing a plan for their trip ahead.

ATLAB

Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, rode her Mongoose-Lizard up to the thousands of tents that housed the many soldiers of the Fire Nation. Her two friends Mai and Ty-Lee were her wing mates who also rode on their own lizards. Soon a royal escort accompanied Azula and her friends into the camp. There, the thousands of soldiers awaited her, then upon seeing the princess they all bowed.

All pleasantries had their place but Azula had other things on her mind, like how she was going to get into Ba Sing Se now that the drill had failed. She had a plan that involved the Kyoshi warriors' uniforms but it would take time to create the details.

The fire nation General Klow came up to the Fire Princess and gave a short bow.

"Greetings Princess Azula. We are honored to have you at the front." He said, then the expression on his face changed to a worried one. " I am sorry you arrived at a troubled time. It seems we had some spies amongst us who's missions seemed to be to free the prisoners. Most of the prisoners were able to be kept under control and are ready to be sent to the weapon factories at any time. But thankfully all they accomplished was to free six Earth Kingdom soldiers."

"How could you allow this to happen?" Azula said, her tone was cold. "If you are incapable of running things, I believe my father will have others that are more than capable of taking your place."

Despite the threat the man's expression became neutral, "I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me when you hear the news."

Azula was taken off guard by the man's fearlessness, but she could respect that. "Oh?" she questioned, amused "What could be such important news that you would risk your job and your life?"

"I know your brother had eluded your grasp so far…" the general paused.

"Well get on with it!" Azula said impatiently.

"We have a very good reason to believe that the banished Prince Zuko was one of the Earth Kingdom soldiers who freed the prisoners last night."

Now that got Azula's attention, up until then she was growing very impatient with the general.

"Explain."

"Two days ago a transport carrying weapons and supplies was ambushed. That is how we believe the Earth Kingdom entered our camp. Anyway, all on the transport was killed, that is all but one. The man was beaten and bruised but he would swear that one of them was Zuko."

Azula laughed in her head. _Well, well _Azula thought, _What has Zuzu gotten himself into this time_

"Take me to the man, I wish to question him my self." Azula paused and turned to the general. "General Klow do you have any idea where the men would have taken the escapees?"

"There is a small Fire nation town a few miles away from here, that's where we believe they could have gone."

"Very well" Azula said, "take as many men as you think will be needed to the town. Kill anyone who gets in your way. I am placing you, General Klow, in charge of this mission. If my brother is there take him alive if you can"

"But if we can't?"

"Very well, just kill him if it becomes necessary" Azula said, "I will be in charge until you return. If your succeed, your job will be waiting for you, but if you should fail you will be treated like a traitor. Which as you know means death."

TBC


	8. The Fire Nation Town

**The Fire Nation Town**

Chapter 8

Once they were in town, the Earth kingdom soldiers who were disguised as Fire Nation had absolutely no problems finding the medical attention they needed. The town leader who was a nervous, small round man dressed in the garb of a Fire Nation official quickly showed them to the nearest medical center. As they walked through the town Zuko noticed that the town's population was made up of all Fire Nation immigrants. Most of them had the dark brown or black hair, as well as the golden-brown eyes which are common of most Fire Nation citizens.

At the medical center they were shown quickly to a room where the Fire Nation healer went to work, doing their best to get the men back to their fullest health. When they were situated Zuko decided to take a walk outside. So he dawned his helmet and mask, and left the building. The streets where crowded with empty booths and different kinds of stands. It appeared that the Fire Nation's annual Spring Festival had just ended and they were beginning to commence clean up.

Zuko could not help but be reminded of home. It was all too familiar. Back home he remembered going to festivals with his parents, but of course that was long before his father became Fire Lord and changed the young prince's life forever.

As Zuko thought back to the good times before his banishment he did not notice a small boy run out in front of him. He almost tripped over the young kid before he was followed by his worried mother. The mother grabbed her son and gave him a hug.

"Don't you ever do that again." She scolded, before she looked up and saw the faceless skull mask of a Fire Nation soldier above her. With out saying a word she picked up her son and scurried out of there as fast as she could. After seeing that Zuko could not help but to think of his own mother and the last things she said to him before she left him forever.

"Never forget who you are" She had said. It was a phrase the Fire Nation prince could not easily forget.

The thought made Zuko look at himself. True, he was wearing a Fire Nation uniform, but he was under cover as an Earth Kingdom soldier. Was that truly who he was? The banished prince did not get to finish his thoughts before he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Hey Lee!" Lang called from behind Zuko, "Wait up."

Zuko turned back around and was going to continue walking anyway, when he noticed a board of wanted posters. Casually, but quickly he went up to the board and grabbed the poster of him and Iroh. Zuko crumbled it up into a paper ball and held it tightly in his hand.

"Lee, what are you doing?" Lang said looking down at Zuko's clutched hand.

"Nothing" Zuko replied.

Lang eyed Zuko's hand and gave him a curious look.

"What ever" Lang shrugged. "Captain Loam wants to see us."

"Ok," Zuko said, "I'll be there in a moment."

After Lang turned to leave Zuko opened his hand and let the black ashes of the poster fall out of his hand and land in the mud on the street.

ATLAB

"Sire, it is important that we do not allow the Avatar much more freedom than necessary." Long Feng said to the Earth King, it was one of their daily discussions of how the city was running.

The King gave his pet bear a pat on the head and then looked up at his most trusted advisor from where he sat on his throne. "I always thought the Avatars were wise? Would it not be good to let such a powerful and wise master of the four elements help us run the city? Perhaps he could point out things that we missed and make Ba Sing Se better for everyone."

Long Feng tried not to let his annoyance show. "I understand Sire, but that was over a hundred years ago. I fear that the new Avatar will not have such an effect on our great city. He is a threat to the well being of our cultural heritage."

"I see" the Earth King said, his face looked as if deep in thought. "I will think on this over tea time. Would you care to join us?"

"No thank you, your majesty I think I'll pass." Feng said before he turned to leave. On the way out he passed a servant bringing in a tea pot as well as cups.

When he was out in the hall way, a Dai Li agent came running up to the Secretariat. The agent took a deep breath.

"The young soldier you requested us to keep an eye on has disappeared and our spy has disappeared as well. The Earth General has already declared them MIA."

_So Lee is now missing in action? and possibly dead, no he was not dead_. Lee is a survivor, Long Feng could tell, knew that the young man would not die in the army.

"Is there anything else?"

"Sir, Lee's Uncle Mushi was arrested recently and is currently being held in Lake Liogai."

The real ruler of Ba Sing Se paused for a second. With no friends and no family, no one would miss Mushi, not even his boss now that he had been fired.

"Fine" Long Feng finally said, "that may help in the long run and it will keep the old man out of our affairs."

"Very good, Sir," The agent turned to leave and then stopped. "Should we apply the "Treatment" to our guest?"

"No" Long Feng said, "not yet, I wish to question him in a day or two. I would like to know more about Lee, and Mushi may be the key to his secret. I feel I am missing something big."

"With the war?"

"Maybe" Feng said thoughtfully, "and maybe not. The boy may just be a good warrior, either way he may help shape the out come of the war."

"You really expect that much out of an ordinary refugee?" The agent questioned. When Long Feng looked back at the man with an annoyed look, he quickly changed the subject. "How should the old man be treated?"

"Treat him well, at least as well as the other prisoners."

ATLAB

Zuko sat on the window sill, looking out at the town that was before him. It brought back such memories of home. Loam at that same moment was briefing them on the plans he had on escaping the town undetected. Zuko however paid little attention to the details of the actual strategy. His Captain continued talking until he noticed that his men were not all listening.

"You got that all, Lee?" Loam said with a frown.

"Yeah, what ever." Zuko said as he snapped back to this instant.

Loam was just about to reply when they all heard some commotion outside. As the Earth Kingdom soldiers crowded around the window, they noticed the town leader talking to a man in a Fire Nation uniform. The soldiers recognized him only as a Fire Nation general, but Zuko recognized him as the cruel man called General Klow. Klow is revered as one of the top benders in the Fire Nation, as well as one of the most powerful, second only to the Fire Lord's family. The banished Fire prince had no doubt that Klow would recognize him. If he needed to face Klow, Zuko would be forced to fire bend. If it came to that, his life would be over.

Thinking quickly, Zuko surveyed the surrounding area. He spotted an old building that appeared to be abandoned. Maybe if he could get Klow into that building he could duel him privately.

When the Earth benders came out into the hall, they heard voices down stairs. Zuko had no doubt that they were the soldiers coming to find them.

"We need to get out of here," Loam said, as he started for the door and motioned for the rest to do the same.

"What about my men!" Sen asked, he was the only man present from the liberated group. "Most of them won't be ready to move that fast, much less fight off all those Fire benders."

The Earth soldiers stopped, as they heard the clicking of heels on the wooden floor below them. Not a single one of them said a single word, as if the thought of even a breath might alert their enemies to their position. A few bumps on the floor sounded as if they just finished putting down some heavy objects. After that, a door shut, signaling that who ever was down there joined the rest of their comrades out side.

Zuko and the rest hurried to the room of their injured companions. After they reached the room, the Earth Kingdom soldiers heard the voice of their enemy out side the open window.

"Come out!" Klow called, "We have the building surrounded and loaded with blasting jelly."

The town leader, who was standing next to the general spoke.

"Sir, that is a hospital, we have many of our own inside."

"It would be unfortunate if Fire Nation citizens were to be killed in this affair." Klow said thoughtfully, then his tone turned icy. "but there may be someone very important in there and I can not afford to allow him to escape. Any further interruptions and I will arrest you for treason, after all you did help the enemy."

In the hospital, the Earth Kingdom soldiers frantically tried to plan a way to escape. There was a back door, but no doubt, it was also guarded. They soon came to the conclusion that the only way out was to fight. That produce the problem of the wounded, they were not benders and they held no weapons.

It was decided that the benders and whoever else had a weapon would fight to protect those who are unable, at least until they reach the woods, there they felt confident that they would be able to lose their pursuers.

As they readied themselves for battle, Zuko placed the fire helmet and mask on his head. When Lang noticed this he raised a questioning brow. Zuko ignored it and checked to make sure his blades were strapped properly to his waist.

ATLAB

The Fire soldiers got into position as the Earth Kingdom soldiers came out of the building.

_Good, _Klow thought, _This is going over quite nicely. But where's the banished Prince?_

It was not long until the Fire Nation General spotted one of the Earth soldiers still wearing a helmet and mask. That's when he knew that must be Prince Zuko. His prey was coming to him, he might even get promoted. That is if that Fire Princess brat didn't have him killed first.

One of the men, who Klow guessed to be the leader, started walking forward. His hands, raised as a sign of surrender. The rest of the men stayed back towards the hospital in a position that told Klow they were going to try and protect their weak.

When the man was no more than five feet from the General he stopped. Then in one quick motion he raised a rock out of the ground and hurled it at his enemy. Klow however, was not quick enough to block or counter his opponent's attack. The rock hit him in the chest, throwing him backwards before he hit the ground and his vision went black.

ATLAB

Seeing their leader laying upon the ground, gave the Fire benders cause to attack. The front row of the benders launched a volley of flaming balls towards the Earth soldiers. The Earth benders countered the attack by raising a rock wall in front of them. Flames flew in every direction before being doused. The Earth benders returned the attack by hurling rocks at their adversaries.

As the battle began, Zuko did his best to protect his man and stay alive at the same time. He called upon all his training and experience to fight off his attackers. At least he did not have to fight with a spear, then he would have been in real trouble.

He defeated man after man, it took more work than defending off the men at Zhao's strong hold. Then he had the help of the Avatar now he only had himself. The other men were busy fighting in the battle. The Earth Kingdom soldiers fought against the incredible odds. It seemed Klow had brought the entire Fire Nation army with him.

During that battle, Zuko witnessed the true talent of his comrades. The brothers, Kin-lo and Jin-lo did some incredible bending. Where in one simultaneous motion they opened up the ground and swallowed up a dozen soldiers. But where one Fire Nation soldier fell one was always there to take his place. So far only one of the rescued prisoners fell with a burnt hole in his chest. It was the man Lang was to protect, he however did not let it faze him. Lang and Katso only had their knives to fight with, it was only a matter of time before they could no longer hold off the Fire benders .

During the fight Zuko saw Klow get off the ground, then rubbed his head before he started straight for the banished prince. Realizing the General was heading for him, Zuko panicked and lost his focus on the battle for one moment and that was all it took for a Fire Nation spearman to sneak up behind and take down the man he was to protect down.

He had no time to absorb the shock before General Klow launched a huge fire ball towards the banished prince. Zuko rolled away from the fire, feeling the heat fly by him. He backed up, there was no way he could defeat Klow with only his swords.

Zuko struck down the spearmen before backing up to the hospital. The abandoned building would have been ideal for this situation, but a hospital full of blasting jelly would have to do. Zuko cringed as he thought of the blasting jelly, it was not the best idea to have a fire duel in the same room with an explosive.

He dodged another attack before backing through the door and into the building. Klow, smiled to himself. He knew what the prince wanted and Klow was ok with it. It would be an honor to kill a member of the Fire Lord's family with his own hand. The Fire Nation General followed Zuko into the building.

**Author's Note: I finally got this posted, this is my longest chapter yet! I didn't get on the computer as much as I wanted the past few weeks. My sister just got IM and is on it all the time, any way I'll post the next chapter as soon as possible.**

**Thank to my reviewers! **


	9. A New Song

Chapter 9

**A New Song**

Klow shut the door, and turned to look at his enemy. The soldier in front of him, took off the Fire Nation mask and helmet revealing the face of Prince Zuko.

"Well, Well" Klow said, "Look who it is, Prince Zuko the banished prince, the failure and now the traitor."

Without warning, Zuko let out a fury of fire blasts. The flames did nothing to Klow as he stepped aside or waved them away with his hands. Zuko's temper raged as he looked at the man who was the cause of his suffering. Klow was the old General who he insulted all those years ago. Now Zuko had his chance at revenge by dueling the man he should have fought instead of his father.

"Two years at sea and all these months on the run have taught you nothing about controlling your temper." Klow taunted, as he got into his stance.

Zuko paused as he realized what Klow was doing. It was like Uncle had taught him about Fire Bending being controlled by the breath and not completely by emotions or strength. Klow was nearly as cold as Azula, and that gave him an edge. He was trying to use Zuko's temper against him. The banished prince let out a deep breath and let his anger go.

"Your father doesn't even want you." Klow said with an evil smile as they began circling each other. "and your sister has given the order to have you killed. No one cares about you. I bet if these Earth barbarians knew who you truly were, you would be under a boulder by now."

Zuko let the insults roll off like water. Klow was singing an old song that he had heard a hundred times. Now it is time for a new song with a different tone.

"Are you going to talk all day or are we going to do this?" Zuko said calmly

After Klow realized his insults were having no effect on his adversary, the real fight began. The Fire Bending master launched fireball after fireball at the young banished prince. Each shot that missed hit the wall and the fire spread. Zuko found himself aware of the imminent danger of the blasting jelly.

The highlights of the flames that surrounded the banished prince showed in his opponents eyes as they began to circle each other. Klow launched a two handed blast at the Zuko, who was unprepared for the attack. He threw up a shield of fire at the last second which stopped the flame from touching his skin but sent him flying backwards into a post.

Despite the pain he felt near the back of his skull, he stood up. Klow started forward as Zuko found himself adopting his Fire Bending stance. The next few minutes were a blur as the two Fire Benders exchanged blow after blow. Zuko's bending had improved drastically over the past few months, but Klow was more experienced than the prince and he was a Fire Bending master.

During the fight the Fire Benders moved up the stairs in an attempt to escape the growing flames below them. Zuko was amazed that the blasting jelly had not exploded yet.

Klow leaped into the air and used his feet to create a powerful blast and launched it at the banished prince. Zuko rolled out of the way and returned with a very powerful two handed fire blast, which missed Klow and blasted a hole in the ceiling. A few boards tumbled to the floor of the burning building.

The patients and Nurses now noticed the fight and the spreading fire around them. In a panic the sick and injured did their best to get out of the building. For some reason Zuko felt better that they were now out of this mess, but he knew he was far from it.

Zuko ducked another blast. Klow was now getting angry, he had not expected the spoiled, inconsequential Fire Bender to give him such trouble. Sweat dripped down from the prince's brow. Klow attacked again, this time with such a ferocity that Zuko was flung backwards. He fell to the ground, his eyes closed.

--------

Zuko opened his eyes, but the sight was not what he expected. He was back at the Agni Kai arena.

'_Please, father, I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart!' _Zuko heard himself say_ 'I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!' _, his fourteen year old self knelt with his face to the mat.

'_You will fight me for your honor' _Zuko heard his father say as he started moving towards his son._ 'Rise and fight, Prince Zuko!' _

'_I won't fight you.' _Zuko found himself saying as tears started rolling down his face, he was now in his fourteen year old body. The cold emotionless face of his father stared down at him.

'_You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher_.' Ozai said as he raised his fist.

_And Klow was the cause of this? _Zuko thought as he saw Klow in the audience, his lips twisted into an evil grin.

_'Father, please!' _Zuko shouted as the flames erupted from his father's fist_. 'No!"_

_--------_

"NO!" Zuko shouted as his mind rushed back to reality. Klow was standing above the fallen prince much as Ozai did three years ago. Zuko was up in a instant, he let out a volley of flames so powerful, that for a second he could have sworn that he saw some blue while the flames had just erupted.

The Fire Bending master was thrown backwards, hitting the floor with such force that the already weakened boards could not hold him. Klow crashed through the floor and landed hard below. Zuko stared down the hole after his fallen adversary. Klow lay, covered by a pile of boards and gave no sign of moving.

Letting out a sigh of relief Zuko forgot for a second he was standing in a bomb. The banished prince started for the stairs, but it was too late. The fire finally reacted with the jelly and the building exploded in ball of flame. Zuko covered himself in a shield of fire and the force of the blast pushed him out a nearby window.

Landing hard in the dirt outside, Zuko slid for about five feet before he stood up. The crater that he left, looked as if a small meteorite had just landed. Smoke rose from his burnt clothing and the ground around him. Dusting himself off, he started walking to where the battle took place. Zuko stopped, as a young fire soldier lunged at him with his spear aimed towards the Princes' heart.

Zuko dodged the spear and knocked it out of the soldier's hand in one smooth motion. Then with his other hand, he sent him down into the dirt with a thud. The Fire Prince stood, waiting for the man to rise. But he did not. When he saw he attacked Prince Zuko, he knelt with his face in the dirt. What was said next, Zuko thought he would never live to hear.

"Please forgive me, Prince Zuko." he said, with his voice shaking. "Have mercy."

Zuko was taken off guard by the soldier's response.

"Why did you call me Prince?" Zuko asked, "I am banished and a shame to our country."

"Maybe to some. But to others in the nation you are a beacon of hope." the soldier continued. "Rumors of what you did in that war room three years ago reached the ears of those who oppose the war in the Fire Nation. Some believe you will return and take your father's place on the throne and restore peace to the nations."

He did not know what to say, this was all news to him. What did he mean restore peace to the Nations? That was the Avatar's job wasn't it? Zuko drew his swords and narrowed them down at the soldier.

"What is your name, soldier?" Zuko asked.

"Lan, Sir" he replied.

"Well, Lan you can go back and tell Azula that General Klow has fallen by the hand of her brother, Prince Zuko heir to the throne of the Fire Nation." Zuko said, sheathing his swords. Saying those words felt good. He was a new man, ready to take on what ever life had to offer. Azula would not have his throne. No matter what it takes.

With out saying another word, Lan rushed off into the woods. As Zuko turned to go off to the other men he noticed the battle ended and what was left of Klow's company was either laying on the ground or retreating off into the woods.

**Author's Note: Well it was a short chapter, but an important one. I hope you enjoyed it!**

**I'll update when I can. (Which will hopefully be soon) **


	10. Aftermath

**Aftermath**

Chapter 10

They were all devastated at the events that took place only hours before. Their loss was almost unbearable. Most of the men they had rescued lay dead as well as Kin-lo, who gave his life protecting his man. Most of them sustained a series of burns ranging from bad to worse, but their over all condition was good, or at least better than the Fire Benders who all lay dead at the foot of the destroyed hospital.

Zuko had struggled to figure out why the Earth benders survived when the Fire benders did not. Not many of the men were talking much, considering they all lost a friend and if not they at least lost one of their brothers of the army. Despite their grief, Lang explained what happened.

"After you ran into that building," He began, "Myself and the others were fighting for our lives outside. Men were dropping left and right. Then as the Fire Benders closed in around us and we thought all hope for our survival was lost, we heard an explosion start. Thinking fast Loam and the other benders raised a shield of rock which covered us from the flames. But those stupid Fire dragons were too slow to protect themselves which ended with them being burnt to a crisp."

Zuko was stunned at the amount of deaths he felt he had caused of his own people. But yet the news of people in the Fire Nation wanting him to become Fire Lord left a strange sensation of being wanted he only felt with his mother or uncle. These people needed him. But the thought of him bringing peace to the world sounded a little too much like the Avatar's job for him to get excited about.

In many ways he still blamed the Avatar for his unhappiness, which he found to be fading with each passing day. Maybe one day he could forgive the boy but not yet. No he still had hope that one day his father would welcome him home with honor. With or without the Avatar.

Hours passed since they left their dead buried out side the Fire nation town. A large thick tree was the only grave marker. After a short service which ended with Loam repeating the traditional Earth Kingdom saying, "Out of the Earth a man is born and into the Earth when he dies."

They were all distraught by the loss, but the look on Jin-lo's face was hardened by the loss of his brother. His earlier good humored self seemed lost forever.

Zuko wasn't sure if he was talking to him or just himself. But as Jin-lo loomed over his brother's grave, what he said next was imprinted on the Prince's mind forever.

"I always dreamed of us becoming great war heroes together." he started. The emotion his voice sent was strong as he began talking to his brother's grave. "But now I realize that is never going to happen. They took you away from me and now they are all going to pay." hatred filled his words. "I swear to you, every Fire Breathing savage that I come across will die."

ATLAB

_It was almost too easy_. Azula stopped thinking over her plans for the conquest of Ba Sing Se as Mai stepped into the room.

"Excuse me, Princess," She said after a short bow, "but there is some one here to see you."

"Send them in." Azula said, curious to see who would be so bold to interrupt her.

"Yes, Princess." Mai replied and turned to leave.

Not long after Mai left, a young Fire Nation soldier stepped into the tent. He was about in his mid-twenties and looked as if he had just got beaten and robbed. His face was caked with mud, his clothes were torn and he was missing parts of his armor.

"What is your business here?" Azula asked calmly, "we do not offer help to homeless men." she said referring to his dress. The man picked up on it immediately and replied.

"I'm sorry Princess about my appearance but I came to inform you on the news of General Klow."

"Ah, Yes and…" She let it trail off. This man clearly looked nervous.

"General Klow is dead," He blurted out, "Fallen by the hand of Prince Zuko himself."

Azula raised a brow. Little Zuzu defeating an experienced Fire bending master? Was it possible?

"Explain"

"When we engaged the enemy," he started "General Klow spotted Zuko right off. After Zuko realized Klow was after him, the prince rushed into a nearby buildimg, the one we had stacked with blasting jelly…"

_Just like Zuko to run and hide _ Azula thought with just a small smile too herself. But the rest of the story surprised her.

"As we fought outside, I guess Zuko and Klow were fighting in the building then the next thing I knew, the building exploded, killing the rest of Klow's soldiers and I'm guessing Klow himself."

"Then, how is it that my brother survived when others did not?"

"I don't know Princess but, the next thing I knew I was staring into the face of Prince Zuko himself. The strange part was he did not kill me." The soldier paused as if afraid to continue.

"and why is that?"

"He gave me…a message."

"Well let me hear it." Azula said, she could not help but wonder what kind of message Zuko would send her and why this man was stupid enough to actually deliver it. What ever news it was it was almost certain to border on treason.

"I don't know…" he said, clearly afraid to continue.

"I'm losing my patience, soldier I have no time for this! Either give me the message or get out." Azula said this with just the right amount of anger in her voice to get her point across but not enough to scare him away. It was important to know how to handle people.

"He told me that nothing will stop him from taking his throne as Fire Lord." The man paused and looked away. "Not even you."

"Now that you told me that my brother survived, I would like to know why you were not with the others when the building exploded." She said, momentarily forgetting the fact that her brother was threatening her throne.

"Well, Princess…" He stuttered, but Azula interrupted before he could finish.

"You come here and deliver a treasonous message from a traitor _you_ let live!?" She let the ferocity in her voice die down. "It would have been better for you to have died or run away then to have come back."

Azula paused and called in her guards, who then grabbed the man by his wrists and twisted them behind his back. As they were leading him out he suddenly turned around, her soldiers struggled to keep hold as he faced the Princess.

"The only reason I came back was to tell you that Prince Zuko will be on the throne and nothing will stop him. I know you have a record of never failing but Zuko never gives up. He will win." He said with a sudden burst of bravery or insanity, "Zuko will become Fire Lord!" he shouted as he was forcibly escorted out.

Well ,Zuko was certainly getting bold, she didn't even know little Zuzu had it in him to kill anybody. _Maybe he'll end up being a challenge after all._ She was almost impressed but reminded herself that her brother, Prince Zuko was an obstacle and all obstacles needed to be removed. Even family. Especially family.

ATLAB

Colonel Mongke and the Rough Rhinos were nearing the next town on their journey and as they came closer, they came to realize a great battle must have taken place earlier. Mongke and his team were not on a rampaging mission in claiming towns in the name of the Fire Lord, because this next town was an Fire nation town already. His men were tired of their constant journeying and deserved a few days rest.

When they entered the town, it was crowded with people scrambling to see what had happened. The throng parted as he and his four companions on their Rhino's started through the crowd.

"You", Mongke pointed to the man in the clothes of a Fire Nation town leader, "What happened here?"

"It was the former Prince Zuko and his Earth soldiers who destroyed our hospital." He answered immediately because he knew as well as everyone else did of the fierce Rough Rhinos.

_Prince Zuko? _Mongke thought, _the boy was here_? News had spread of the doubling of the bounty on the Prince's head by his own sister.

"Grab somthin' to eat boys!" he shouted to his men, "We got some hunting to do."

**Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know it's short, but I decided to post it so you didn't think I abandoned it. I had a hard time thinking of what I wanted to happen next, but I have it figured out now and you can expect another chapter in a few weeks. **


	11. Enemies Meet

Chapter 11

Enemies Meet

Silence, is what plagued the group as they walked through the woods. Springtime was ending, but the woods were still full of new life. Unfortunately for the Earth soldiers, death was the only thing on their minds. They were one with the woods and it was as if nothing in nature even noticed their existence.

Jin-lo was the first to stop.

"What is it?" Sen-Su asked when he noticed his companion's hesitation.

"There is someone coming behind us." He responded and closed his eyes concentrating, "I can't tell how many, but by the feel, I would say they are Fire Nation rhinos and they're moving fast!"

"How do you know that?" Zuko asked.

"Vibrations in the earth, my friend." Jin-lo replied, "Some of us benders are more sensitive to them then others."

"I see," Zuko said, he would need to keep that in mind.

"We need to keep moving!" Came a shout from Loam as he looked back and saw the Rough Rhinos back in the distance. A cloud of dust followed and the thundering foot prints of the Rhinos shook the earth.

Their efforts to escape the notorious town conquers failed as they surrounded the Earth Kingdom soldiers. Zuko drew his swords and faced his enemies, the Earth soldiers formed a protective circle as the Rough Rhinos began to circle.

"Give up the fugitive," Mongke shouted as a flame formed in his hand, "and just maybe we'll let you live." Then a fireball erupted from his palm.

ATLAB

The Dragon of the West sat in his cell deep under Lake Liogai, it had been days since his arrest. Iroh had hoped that by being arrested it would lead him closer to discovering the truth of what happen to his now missing nephew. But as he sat in the small cell and the green glow of the crystals illuminated the room he could not help but feel that by being arrested he would be forgotten and left to rot.

The Di Lai thought they held a lonely old tea maker instead the Fire Lord's brother and the famous General that nearly conquered the very city he now took refuge, they clearly underestimated him. Iroh knew he could escape at anytime he wanted, just a little lightning bending here and he would disappear before the Di Lai even knew what happened.

It had been days since he had any contact with anyone other then the agent who brought him his food daily. But today was different. As the door to his cell slid open two agents stepped in and rock cuffed his hands behind his back. Iroh was led out of his cell and down the hallway.

"Where are you taking me?" Iroh asked, using his best helpless old man voice.

"To see our leader," the agent to his right answered, "he wishes to speak with you."

Before they got too far down the hallway, another Di Lai agent blind folded him so he could see nothing of his surroundings. However what he heard as they led him, was fascinating.

The ground shook from giant feet, and a monstrous sound came from one the cells.

"Get it under control!" He heard someone shout.

Iroh would know that roar anywhere: it was the Avatar's bison.

_Interesting. _He thought as the commotion stopped and his captors led him down the hall.

When they were up on the surface, he was led too a private tram. About an hour passed before Iroh's blindfold was taken off. He sat in a library which was illuminated by a green fire. As he faced the fire, the doors opened and Long Feng stepped in. Two agents stood by his side as he sat facing the old man.

"Those won't be necessary," Long Feng said as he raised his hand and used earth bending to remove the rock cuffs and then he greeted Iroh.. "I am Long Feng, Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se and head of the Di Lai."

"I am Mushi, former Head Server of Pal's tea shop and maker of the best tea in Ba Sing Se or so they tell me." Iroh introduced himself with a grin.

"Amusing" Feng said as he raised a brow. "What is your business in the Greatest City of the world?"

"My nephew and I came here as refugees from the war."

"Really," Long Feng said "What did you do before you came to Ba Sing Se?"

"Mostly try to avoid the Fire Nation," Iroh said and then stopped, "Oh yeah and not getting killed that's what we did best."

Long Feng stopped, for a moment studding the man that stood in front of him. He usually could tell when some one was lying just by the tone in their voice, but this old man was nearly impossible to read. It was almost like this tea server was skilled in politics. He had not encountered any one even remotely political in a long time, he usually just had his agents take care of anyone who threatened his rule and the well-being of Ba Sing Se.

"Enough!" he said, "I am tired of your games. I know you are looking for you nephew and you are wondering what happened to him. I am correct, am I not?"

Iroh nodded and Long Feng continued.

"Lee," the Secretariat started, "has interrupted the well being of Ba Sing Se and it is my job to keep the peace in this great city."

"I see" Iroh said, rubbing his chin, "and what has my nephew done to interrupt 'the well being of Ba Sing Se'? Nothing illegal, I hope."

"The street fight a few weeks ago had led me believe that Lee's short temper and his skill with the sword would be most helpful else where. Such as the army, which is where he is now, proudly serving his country."

"Why was I not informed of this?" Iroh asked.

Ling Feng ignored the question. "Which brings me to my point of your visit. You see I would not ordinarily take time in talking to an old tea maker and tracking a teenage boy's progress in the army…"

"How is my nephew?" Iroh interrupted him, hoping to get as much information he could. "is he still alive?" Knowing Zuko, he probably was, he is a survivor it runs in the family.

"Lee is fine as far as we can tell." he answered waving off the question, "However he is not my problem now. You are, Mushi. If you keep searching for your nephew you could disturb the well being of the city..."

"and you wish to make a deal with me?" Iroh said, finishing his sentence.

Long Feng smiled, "I can't get anything by you can I, Mushi. Both you and Lee are more then you seem. What is your secret?"

"Love and proper ageing."

The smiled disappeared from the secretariat's face, "I did not mean your ridiculous recipe for making tea! I can see you would not stop searching for your nephew if I just asked you to and I am afraid you give me no other choice but to hold you in Lake Liogai."

"Lee's family," Iroh simply put, "and I would do anything for him."

The two guards that were standing by Long Feng's side came up to Iroh and cuffed his hands behind his back. As they turned to leave Long Feng stopped them.

"I think it's time we apply our treatment to our guest," he said to the Di Lai agents, who smiled and nodded as they led their prisoner out the door.

ATLAB

Jin-lo was first to react. He raised a rock wall out of the ground, absorbing the flames and then return the attack by sending a large rock back at the Fire Bender which knocked the Colonel off the rhino and onto the ground with a thud. Zuko followed up the attack by raising swords and striking at Mongke, who dodged the banished prince's attack and returned it with a fire blast.

Prince Zuko and Colonel Mongke exchanged blows while the Rhinos moved in on the other Earth Kingdom soldiers. The battle raged on and neither of the two groups gaining the upper hand. The Earth Kingdom soldiers were tired and scarcely armed but they fought with the rage that was fueled by revenge and survival.

Not a single Earth soldier fell, but already two of the rough rhinos lay on the ground. Zuko and Mongke continued their private duel which consisted of slashing of swords and the burning of flames. Zuko struck at the Colonel but then was caught off guard by the Rough Rhino.

He fell backwards as the ball of flame crashed into his Fire Nation armor extinguishing the blow. Mongke stood above him his fist pointed down at the banished prince. No sooner did the flames leave his fist before Zuko was up on his feet. Then using a fire bending move, without fire, he kick the Colonels legs out from under him sending him hard to the ground. Mongke groaned, but after that there was no movement.

Turning away, the banished prince of the Fire Nation ran off to help his Earth Kingdom comrades. He leapt high in the air, taking out the archer then drew his sword in time to deflect the double ball chained that was hurled at him. Knocking the chain weapon back at it's wielder, raping him in his own chained prison.

Zuko smiled at his success, but that was quickly cut short by a Fire blast which separated him, Lang and Sen-Su from the others. Mongke was back on his rhino and was moving in on Zuko. Flames burned between them and the other Earth soldiers. The remaining Rough Rhinos turned their attention away from the others and started towards the banished prince. Through the burning flames Zuko saw Loam helping the wounded escape down the path. He gave one last sad look before he rushed off with the others. Normally Zuko would have felt betrayed, that they could leave him like that, but he know knew they were not his friends and never could be. Besides they could do nothing but complete the mission, that is the first priority for Captain Loam.

Only Lang and Sen-Su remained, Lang to Zuko's left and Sen to his right. They each held a knife at the ready while Zuko held his swords. The Rhinos began to push them backwards towards the ledge of the path they traveled, the drop down was not steep like a cliff but more like a steep hill.

"Come now, Prince Zuko," Mongke started. "You really can't expect to escape the famous Rough Rhino's can you?"

The surprise of the mention of 'Prince Zuko' showed on Sen's face but Lang's was hardened and unreadable. Glancing quickly to Zuko, Sen returned his attention to the Rhino's. Zuko however let out a cry and started forward with his swords ready for blood, but his attempt was cut short because no sooner had he started then the explosive specialist lunched a small stick of dynomite at the prince.

It exploded, crumpling the earth out from beneath the Earth soldier's feet. They fell and Zuko felt his arms being burnt as he and the others tumbled down the edge of the hill. The pain Zuko felt soon gave away to darkness.

**Next chapter is coming soon!**

**Well thanks for reading and thanks to all who review. I really appreciate it!**


	12. The Freedom Fighters

The Freedom Fighters

Chapter 12

Sen-Su sat facing the fire that now flickered in front of him. It was a cool spring night and he enjoyed listening to the creatures that were awake, making their night music. Having lost their Rough Rhino pursuers after they tumbled down the side of the cliff a few hours ago, Lang and Sen-Su were unscathed by the fall. But Lee or Zuko, what ever his name, was still unconscious. His arms where burned mildly, but other than that he would be ok.

Picking up a stick, Sen poked it into the fire letting a few sparks fly up in the air. Lang sat across from him on the other side of the blaze where he held Zuko at knifepoint. He had taken the news of Lee really being Prince Zuko quite differently than Sen had and it was for the reason of it being some kind of mistake, that allowed Lang to be content in not leaving him to die.

"You know you really don't need to do that," Sen said, motioning towards the blade pointed at their comrade's neck. Lang had also insisted on tying his hands behind his back. "If he wouldn't attack us before what makes you think he will now, anyway he's not going anywhere."

Lang remained silent, his face still hardened.

"It might just be a mistake," Sen reasoned again, "I mean what would the Prince of the Fire Nation be doing in the Earth Kingdom army? Last I heard he was hunting the Avatar." Sen pretended to look around, "Nope, no Avatar here so why are you so sure he is Prince Zuko?"

"I don't care if he is Prince Zuko or not," Lang replied coldly. "He is Fire Nation. That I am sure of. I could see it in his eyes when he attacked the Rhinos. I always suspected it before, but now it has been confirmed."

Sen-Su knew he could have been the man who protected his family. Fire Nation or not, he would do nothing until he knew for sure.

"Ok," Sen took a deep breath, "Whether he is Fire Nation or not, I believe this is the man who protected my family." He paused for a moment, "If he is the man I think he is, we won't do anything to him, but if he's not, we will report him to the Earth General back at camp. Deal?"

Lang let out a humorless chuckle, "He protected your family?" He said, "Well I had a very different run in with the Fire Nation. They killed my father. They deserve to die." He looked down at Zuko, "All of them."

Sen shook his head. He understood where Lang was coming from. It was a similar viewpoint, which most citizens of the Earth Kingdom shared. What if he had lost both, his father and brother to the Fire Nation? Sen-Su knew he would have a very different attitude towards the banished prince if that were true. However, it was not.

ATLAB

Zuko woke with his head hurting and his arms burned. He tried to remember what had happened. He recalled the Rough Rhino attack, then there was an explosion and after that nothing. No, wait he remembered something else. Mongke had said his name, his real name. Lang and Sen-Su were by his side, did they know?

He tried to sit up, but a hand pushed him back down. Looking down Zuko noticed a knife, just centimeters away from his neck. Yeah, they knew.

"Stay down, Fire Nation scum." Lang said, Zuko noticed the fierceness in his voice, as well of his own lack of mobility with his hands tied.

"Did you really save my family?" Sen-Su asked, more serenely.

"Yes," Zuko said, "I did."

"Prove it," Sen replied.

"Your brother's name is Li and your father's name is Gansu. You also live on a hybrid-pig farm." Zuko replied calmly, still noting the blade next to his throat.

"He could be lying." Lang said still not moving.

"He's not," Sen said, "He is telling the truth. Let him up Lang."

He hesitated, but reluctantly allowed the banished Prince to rise. Zuko sat up but winced at the pain in his arms and head.

"One more thing…" Sen started.

Zuko knew this was coming. He could avoid it no longer. _Never forget who you are._ His mother's voice rang out in his head.

"Are you really Prince Zuko?" Sen finished the question.

Zuko paused, not wanting to answer but he knew he had no choice. He took a deep breath. "Yes," he finally said, "I am Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation."

It was a risk that he knew he had to take, lying about who he truly was never got him very far. Besides, the look in Sen's eyes told the banished prince that he was willing to believe anything Zuko had to say.

A few awkward moments of silence passed before Sen-Su spoke, "So what are you doing in the Earth Kingdom army?"

"A spy, probably!" Lang said whipping out his knife.

"No!" Zuko shouted, he paused and tried to think of something. He knew they would never believe their beloved government had shanghaied someone into the army. Therefore, he decided to lie. "I was tired of the madness in the Fire Nation! My own father did this," He pointed to his scar. "I don't wish to serve him any longer, that's why I joined the army under the name of 'Lee'."

"That's horrible," Sen said, and then a faint smile crept onto his face. "Well, we welcome all the help we can get."

Lang's mouth dropped at that, but he said nothing more. He had accepted that he clearly had no say in the matter. Not yet, at least.

Realizing they could do no more tonight, the Earth soldiers and the banished Prince decided to call it a night and get some sleep. Lang refused to untie Zuko's hands, but that was no problem. Prince Zuko just heated up the ropes until he was able to burst them apart. Sen stared in amazement, but Lang still held his knife as he lay down to sleep.

Sen soon followed with his heavy breathing adding to the night chorus. Zuko laid wide-awake, his earlier adventure that day should have left him worn out, but he found he just could not sleep. Images of his mother leaving still floated in his mind and the over whelming desire to return home to his father's open arms, kept him awake for most of the night.

It seemed that he only closed his eyes before the light of the morning sun awakened him. He stood up, stretched and let out a big yawn. Sen-Su and Lang still lay sleeping around the diminishing fire. The woods around him were silent, too silent. Something was wrong, Zuko stood still, listening for any kind of movement. There was a breaking of a twig and then a small round object was tossed through the air towards the banished Prince.

Realizing it was an explosive device, Zuko dove out of the way as shards flew in every direction. Picking up his swords, he stood in a defensive position.

_The_ _Rhinos? _Was Zuko's immediate thought, but the enemy had yet to show himself. The Rough Rhinos would have just stormed in. Secrecy was not their style.

"Show yourself!" Zuko shouted. By this time, his companions were up with their weapons held.

A few more moments of silence passed and then still nothing happened. Zuko almost let out a sigh of relief, but that thought was too quick because a figure landed behind them. She was a blur of green as she quickly disarmed Lang and Sen-Su of their knives with her Kyoshi katana. Zuko realized that their attacker was a Kyoshi Warrior.

_But why is she attacking us?_ Zuko got his answer when he realized they were still wearing their Fire Nation Armor.

The Warrior turned from Zuko's companions and turned to Zuko himself. She let one of her fans fly towards the banished prince. Zuko easily knocked it away and it fell to the ground with a clang.

She drew her sword and charged at the Prince with her blade held in an attack position.

"We are not Fire Nation soldiers!" Lang shouted from his injured position on the ground.

The Kyoshi Warrior stopped. Still facing Zuko, she spoke. "If you are truly not Fire Nation, then drop your swords."

Zuko did not move until he was urged by Sen-Su. "Z…Lee, just drop them!" He said, while using Zuko's Earth Kingdom name.

"Fine," Zuko said and let them fall to the ground.

The warrior of Kyoshi stood her ground. She seemed content with the outcome. Then without warning, they were surrounded by weapon carrying kids. He could not believe it, they seemed to have come from nowhere.

Most of them held make-shift spears while others held other weapons such as knives, swords, bows and arrows, plus one little boy playfully bounced an explosive device up and down in his hand.

Time passed, as they were led back to what they described as their "Hideout". The Kyoshi Warrior introduced herself as Keri and explained how she was separated from the other Kyoshi Warriors in a battle with someone who sounded remarkably like Azula.

"I don't know what happened to the others," She said shaking her head sadly, "Because I went down after this girl hit me with a bunch of quick punches and when I woke up, I woke up alone. After wandering around the woods for awhile, I came across these kids who call themselves 'Freedom Fighters'."

"So that's what a Kyoshi Warrior is doing with a bunch of orphaned kids." Lang said.

"Yes," Keri replied, "I hope to someday reunite with my fellow warriors. But for now these kids need me. I think I've taken the place of their former leader who, as far I know left to go to Ba Sing Se."

After Keri was finished talking, Sen-Su explained to her everything that had happened, including his imprisonment by the Fire Nation and rescue by the other Earth soldiers.

Zuko could not help, but worry that his true identity would be recognized by the warrior. He had not been exactly friends with the citizens of Kyoshi last time he was there. But as far as he could tell, Keri was not one of the girls who attacked him directly in his hunt for the Avatar. Anyway they all looked the same to him with all that makeup on.

He was surprised, that this warrior had escaped from Azula and her lackeys in one piece. However, if he knew Azula and he did, the other Kyoshi warriors might not have gotten off so lucky. Keri's appearance did support her story, that she did indeed have a run in with his sister, or at least another Fire Bender. Her Kyoshi uniform was ripped in various spots and the edges were scorched.

"Why did the Fire bender and her friends attack you?" Zuko surprised himself by asking.

"We were protecting the Avatar's bison," Keri said with a small amount of pride in her voice.

_The Avatar!? _Zuko practically screamed in his head, _He was near? _Zuko could barely hold in his excitement. Perhaps it was out of habit, but the banished prince once again found himself longing to return home.

**Authors Note: Thanks for being patient with me, I knew what I wanted to happen, but it took me a little bit to figure out the best way to write it. Anyway, if anybody was wondering; A Katana is a sword made by the Samuri of Japan, it also appears very similar to the swords wielded by the Kyoshi Warriors in the episode "Appa's Lost Days." **


	13. Just an Old Tea Maker

**Just an Old Tea Maker**

Chapter 13

The blindfold was removed as Iroh's eyes adjusted to the familiar green glow of the crystals of his cell. Only this time it was not his cell, but a different room all together. In the center was what looked like to Iroh to be a stone track with a dormant lamp sitting awkwardly to one side. He was un-cuffed and placed in a chair, and then using Earth Bending, his Di Lai escort rock cuffed him to the chair.

He was relieved, of course, that his nephew was ok. Even the news of Zuko being in the Earth army was not the worst scenario. This was, Iroh was not sure what exactly Long Feng had planned for him. What ever it was it would not be good.

The agent stepped into the circle and lit the lamp, another agent stood out side the circle and used Earth Bending to make the lamp go around. But before he started the one agent said to the other.

"What about his head?" he said, "we should have that secured too."

"What for?" He replied, "He's just an old tea maker."

With that the "treatment" began, as the light started to rotate. It did not take long for Iroh to realize what was happening. He was both surprised and appalled that the leaders of the great city of Ba Sing Se would resort to "brain washing".

"You're safe now," The agent started as the light began its hypnotic trek.

Iroh tried to hide from the light but no matter how hard he tried to fight it, the light continued to pierce his thoughts.

"There is no war within the walls," He continued, "here we are safe, here we are free."

Slowly he felt himself losing control of his own thoughts and they began to be replaced by ones that were not his own.

"My nephew…" Is all Iroh could get out.

"Your Nephew is safe," The agent continued, "You have nothing to worry about."

"My nephew is safe," Iroh repeated.

_No! _He Screamed in his head, _I must not give in. _Iroh tried to hold on but he could not hold on much longer. With all hope lost he found he would need to resort to bending. He closed his eyes blocking out the light, and concentrated on the heat of the sun somewhere far above Lake Liogai. The heat coursed through his body. Then he finally let it all loose. The flame burst from his mouth, engulfing the surprised Di Lai agent.

Then heating up the rocks that bound his hands and feet until it burst apart, Iroh stood up and faced the other agent. The other Di Lai agent was surprised but quickly over came his confusion. He reacted by sending two rock gloves at the old tea maker. Iroh then countered by forming a ball of fire in his hand and with one swift motion he swiped the stones out of the air. Returning the attack with one powerful fire ball, he left the agent unconscious, who was only able to partially block the attack.

Iroh quickly ran over and slid open the door. Running out into the hallway, he was spotted by another agent who gave chase. Iroh turned and ran in the other direction as more agents started pouring into the hallway. Trying to remember which way was the exit, the Dragon of the West took various turns, and soon found himself lost in a maze of corridors.

Dodging the stone gloves of his pursuers, Iroh ducked into another hallway, momentarily losing them. He stopped, letting air fill his lungs as he panted and allowed his muscles to relax.

_I should start working out more, _Iroh thought to himself. He paused listening to his surroundings. He could hear the foot steps of the Di Lai agents coming closer. He could hear something else, it sounded like… The Avatar's bison! He had heard it just before he was taken out of the under ground prison.

Iroh took off in that direction. Hearing the shouts of the Di Lai close behind him, he continued through the passages until he came to his destination. The Bison could be heard in the cell beside him.

Continuing down the hall, Iroh soon spotted the exit up ahead. As he ran a stone glove caught him on the shoulder. He winced and continued, but as a second glove caught him square in the back he fell and slid a few feet while sending a powerful two fisted fire blast back at the Di Lai.

Flames filled the hall and the agents were forced to duck or cling to the ceilings as the fire passed. Iroh got up and continued until he was stopped by a wall that was raised in front of him.

"Surrender now," An agent said as he stepped forward.

The pause in the chase was just enough time for Iroh to use his bending to create lightning and shatter the stone wall that stood in front of him. The Di Lai agents avoided the flying debris and started after the old tea maker, but as the smoke cleared, he was gone.

Iroh surfaced from the tunnel that led out of Lake Liogai. Having finally escaped the Di Lai's clutches, he started back to Ba Sing Se. Hoping to find a way to some how rescue his nephew, while keeping in mind that the Di Lai most certainly knew the Dragon of the West was in Ba Sing Se.

ATLAB

A Di Lai agent stood out side the door to the Grand Secretariat's chambers. He was not quite sure how to commence in revealing the unfortunate turn in events. The agent had heard rumors that men who gave Long Feng bad news were never heard from again. Of course that was just rumors wasn't it?

So taking a deep breath, he entered the room. Long Feng sat facing the green fire, but somehow he knew the agent had entered.

"What news do you have for me?" Long Feng said, without turning around.

"Well, sir." He started, "It has appeared that the old man has…" The agent paused, not sure how to continue.

"Get on with it!" Feng said impatiently.

"…escaped our base," he finished.

"How?" Long Feng replied calmly.

"He is a Fire Bender, Sir," The Di Lai agent replied.

Suddenly the fire behind the Secretariat flared up. Long Feng was not a fire bender but the crystals that produced the flames reacted to his sudden burst of anger. The agent shrunk off a bit. He had never seen Long Feng this angry, but as his anger quickly died down so did the flames.

Long Feng quickly composed himself and turned to face his agent. "We must search for him, send every available man into the city."

"It's a big city, sir," the agent pointed out, "he could be anywhere."

"I know," he replied calmly, "but we must find him without alerting the citizens of Ba Sing Se. That is the last thing we need."

The agent turned to leave, but stopped, "One more thing, Sir," He said, "This old man was a very powerful Fire Bender. If we do find him, it will not be easy to bring him in." Then with that the agent left with the door slamming shut behind him.

How could he have been so foolish? Long Feng was, not sure how two Fire Benders had eluded him. But one thing he now knew was, he had one very dangerous enemy lose in the city and a suspected Fire Bender in the Earth Kingdom Army. Unfortunately, Lee was still MIA.

ATLAB

Prince Zuko crouched in a tree, lining a road. The others, including Lang, Sen-Su and the Kyoshi Warrior, as well as most of the Freedom Fighters were hiding in surrounding trees.

It was a cool cloudy morning as the banished prince and his companions waited for their target. Which as Keri had explained, the Fire Nation had been moving supplies through for weeks, but each time the Freedom Fighters had intercepted them.

Having finally changed out of the Fire Nation uniforms, Zuko now wore simple clothes with a rain poncho, protecting him from the rain that now began to fall. His swords were strapped to his back in the Blue Spirit fashion.

Drips of water ran off the rim of his hood and fell in front of his face as he watched the road for any kind of moment. Only a couple of months ago, if he would have been told he would be sitting in a tree with a bunch of kids ready to ambush Fire Nation soldiers, he would have had who ever told him that thrown off his ship.

Destiny was a funny thing. However, Zuko was not laughing.

**Author's Note: Well it was one of my shorter chapters, but I hope you enjoyed! Update coming soon **


	14. Ambush

Previously on Prince Zuko: Shanghaied…

Prince Zuko crouched in a tree, lining a road. The others, including Lang, Sen-Su and the Kyoshi Warrior, as well as most of the Freedom Fighters were hiding in surrounding trees.

It was a cool cloudy morning as the banished prince and his companions waited for their target. Which as Keri had explained, the Fire Nation had been moving supplies through for weeks, but each time the Freedom Fighters had intercepted them.

Having finally changed out of the Fire Nation uniforms, Zuko now wore simple clothes with a rain poncho, protecting him from the rain that now began to fall. His swords were strapped to his back in the Blue Spirit fashion.

Drips of water ran off the rim of his hood and fell in front of his face as he watched the road for any kind of movement. Only a couple of months ago, if he would have been told he would be sitting in a tree with a bunch of kids ready to ambush Fire Nation soldiers, he would have had who ever told him that thrown off his ship.

Destiny was a funny thing. However, Zuko was not laughing.

**Chapter 14**

**Ambush**

The rain began to fall steadily and still no sign of the Fire Nation. They had waited there for nearly three hours and Zuko was starting to wonder if this was a waste of time. Then from across the road came a bird whistle.

"The're coming," Keri whispered, as she unsheathed her Kyoshi Katana from were she crouched beside Zuko. He mimicked her by unsheathing his own swords, just as the target was coming into view.

Zuko observed a cart, being pulled by a rhino and five soldiers walking by its side. _There should be more. _Zuko thought, as he scanned the woods for them. The Fire nation certainly would have not let supplies this unguarded on a route that was constantly being ambushed.

Before he could speak a single word, the Kyoshi Warrior dropped from the tree landing in the middle of the Fire Nation troops. Swinging her sword, she took out two of the Fire soldiers as they came at her with their spears. Turning around, she sent her fan flying. It clanged as it connected with a Fire Nation helmet.

The rest of the Freedom Fighters including Zuko, Sen and Lang dropped down, surrounding the remaining two troops. The troops, however were not going to surrender quietly. They still held their swords in a defensive position.

"That was easy," Keri said as she joined the group, sheathing her Katana and tucking her fan back into her belt.

"Too easy," Zuko whispered to himself, glances from both Lang and Sen told Zuko that they had heard him as well.

Keri stepped forward, "Surrender and we will let you live." She said to the two remaining soldiers. They did not move. "You must understand the position you're in…"

She trailed off as a voice came from the other side of the cart. "There's nothing in here!" One of the kids shouted as they finished inspecting the wagon.

The smile disappeared from the Kyoshi Warrior's face, as a smirk appeared on the Fire Nation soldier's faces. She turned around as the Yu Yan Archers appeared from the shadows of the tree tops.

Acting with speed and accuracy the, Yin Yan Archers are famous for, they quickly let the arrows fly. Soaring through the air, arrows pinned the kids to the trees, rendering them useless but unharmed.

The kids tried to fight back, but they were no match for the skill of the notorious archers of the Fire Nation. Soon, retreat was the their only option. The Freedom Fighters fled in every direction, dodging the arrows as they escaped to the safety of the woods.

Zuko turned, he however had no intentions of fleeing. It was not in his blood to retreat. His swords were held in a defensive position, ready for any attack. The Yu Yan Archers stopped firing, as the last of the kids disappeared into the woods.

Only Zuko, Lang, Sen and Keri remained. Apparently they had no intention in fleeing either. One of the soldiers who, earlier was considered their prisoner stepped forward and mockingly said, "Surrender and we will let you live, you must understand the position your in."

Lang and Sen held the swords Keri had given them at the ready. Zuko and Keri stood ready with their weapons as well, surrender, like retreat was also not an option.

ATLAB

"Next!" Quin Li shouted from her post. Taking tickets and checking passports at the inner wall was really beginning to take a toll on her. She took the next piece of parchment, glancing over the details, she stamped it and handed it back to the man.

"Next!" She shouted again, an old crippled man in rags stepped forward. He held no papers, but Quin Li's heart immediately went out to him.

_What a poor old man she thought_. He had a cloth wrapped around his eye for an eye patch. Hunched over, he was a heavy set man who walked with a limp.

"Please," he said, "I have lost my passport and my nephew is in dire need within the city's walls." His voice shook, liked it pained him to speak.

"I'm sorry sir," Quin Li replied, "I can't allow you in without a passport."

"Please, young lady," He sounded as if he was going to start crying, "help a poor old man out?"

She shook her head. "No."

Quin Li held back her tears as he started to leave. As she watched him limp away, she knew she would never be able to face herself again if she did not help.

"Sir!" She cried out after him, "I think I can help you."

Looking both ways, before she quickly pulled out a ticket for the tram and stamped it before handing it to him. As he took it a wide grin crossed his sad features.

"Thank you," he said, as he wobbled past her towards the now departing tram.

Just his 'thank you' was enough to make Quin Li's day. She smiled back at him. After he had boarded the tram, she turned back to her duties.

"Next," She shouted.

ATLAB

Iroh sat down in his seat. Looking at the ticket he held in his hand he could not help but smile. _Yep, I still got it. _He thought to himself as he slowly closed his eyes for some well deserved rest.

ATLAB

He knew they had no intention in letting them leave if they wanted to. The Fire Nation had succeeded in their objective. They had captured the leader of the Freedom Fighters. The Fire Nation soldier that was still on the ground gave them the order to fire.

"Let none of them live!" He shouted.

Zuko's blades were a flash as they cut through an arrow that was aimed for him. The Yu Yan archers, were renown for their legendary accuracy. Another arrow flew towards Zuko. Rolling out of the way, he was forced to keep his feet moving and his swords swinging.

Sen-Su, Lang and Keri did the same as a shower of arrows rained down upon them. An arrow caught Zuko's hand, knocking the blade from his grasp. Soon they were all exhausted. The rain of arrows paused, as the soldier held up his hand.

"Wait!" he shouted "We will let you live if, show us to your 'hide-out'."

"Never," Keri breathed.

"Very well, then." The man shrugged, "Have it your way."

Blood seeped from the cut on Zuko's hand as he picked up his fallen sword. Breathing hard, he knew this would be the end, if he did not…

No sooner had the arrows been released, he created a wall of fire in the surrounding trees, the famous archers fled the flames as Zuko, Lang, Sen-Su and Keri used it as an distraction and escaped into the woods.

**Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated for so long! I've been suffering from LOZI (Lack of Zuko Inspiration) **

**Update Coming Soon. **


	15. The Betrayal

Chapter 15

The Betrayal

Running through the woods at a great speed, the wind blew in their faces as branches tore at their clothing. Zuko and the others rushed after Keri, trusting that she would lead them to the safety of the tree top hide-out. The banished Fire Prince hated that he needed to use his bending again, he not only revealed that he was a Fire bender to the leader of a group, devoted to fighting the Fire Nation, but he was leaving a wide trail for Azula to follow.

He had no doubt that the Yu Yan Archers would report back to his sister about the Fire Bender hiding out with a bunch of kids. That is, if she did not already know he was there to begin with. It did seem strange that the famous archers needed to be called into take out a group of rag tag children called the 'Freedom Fighters'.

Keri was silent until they reached the tree-top fort. Zuko was not sure how the Freedom Fights were going to react to his Fire Bending. The Kyoshi Warrior's face was hard to read, but clearly she was upset about the unfortunate turn in events. After making a unique bird call, the kids appeared from the trees.

Not wasting any time Keri started her speech, while the older kids, who were old enough to fight, nursed their wounds and the younger ones listened intently to their leader.

"Today we have lost," she started, "the Fire Nation knew of our plans and clearly they know we are a threat!"

The kids cheered as she said this. Zuko however wondered what she was leading up to. He had his mind set on the worst scenario.

"And they are right!" Keri continued, "We kids are going to bring down the Fire Nation. Because as I speak, the twelve year old Avatar is in Ba Sing Se, recruiting the Earth King to fight against the evil Fire Nation!"

More cheers rose up as Keri continued her motivational speech. Zuko however reached for his swords, he did not like where this was going.

"I have no doubt they will defeat the Fire Lord, Princess Azula…" She paused and looked straight at Zuko. "and Prince Zuko. Who betrayed us today!"

The crowed was silent, Zuko waited patiently to see how exactly they would react. Keri drew her sword and leveled it at the banished Fire Nation Prince.

"I should have known it was you, but I was not sure how to react when I saw you with two Earth Kingdom traitors!"

Sen-Su and Lang's hands moved to their swords, after they realized they were in the same trouble Zuko was in.

"We are not traitors! We had no idea that it was a trap," Lang shouted.

"He might be Prince Zuko," Sen said, motioning towards Zuko who now stood with his swords drawn. "But he's changed. He is a hero!"

"Like, when he nearly destroyed my home in his chase with the Avatar?" Keri said with rage in her voice.

"I needed my honor back! Capturing the Avatar was the only way to get it back. I'm… Sorry." Zuko said, surprising himself on how much humility had changed him. "I've changed." But he knew his words would have no effect on her.

"You? You have no honor!" She shouted and attacked. Her katana was a swinging blur as she moved with grace and agility. Zuko blocked her blade, with his swords and countered her attack, forgetting even when he defeated Keri he would still need to deal with rest of the Freedom Fighters. Sen-Su and Lang were fighting their way out of the crowd. These kids were far from innocent, that was taken away when the Fire Nation wiped out their families.

"Zuko, I think we should go!" Sen shouted, while defending himself from three of the spear wielding Freedom Fighters.

Zuko blocked one of Keri's blows his left sword, then with his other he knocked the blade from the Kyoshi Warrior's grasp. Keri did not hesitate as she took her fans from her belt. The metal fans whooshed open as she charged forward. Zuko dodged each of the weapons as she skillfully wielded them.

He knew Sen was right, they did need to get out of here. Zuko ducked one fan and knocked the other one out of her hand. Realizing that there was no use in hiding his fire bending any longer. He sent a fire blast which, knocked the Kyoshi Warrior off balance and drove her to the ground. By the time she rose, Zuko, Sen-Su and Lang had already disappeared.

ATLAB

Iroh continued through the crowded streets of the lower section of Ba Sing Se, for the most part he went unnoticed, thanks to his crippled old man disguise as he called it. However, he could not help but admit that he was at a dead end.

He had no one to turn to. He was alone in the largest city in the world. So would that mean he would give up on his nephew? Of course not, Zuko was like a son to him and he would not rest until he was found.

The Dragon of the West hobbled through the streets, pushing through crowds of people. He stopped, in front of him stood the "Tea Hut" another one of the many places to purchase tea in Ba Sing Se.

_It is almost time for my morning tea_… Iroh started toward the shop, but stopped. _No, No_ he told himself, _Zuko would need to come first._ Almost past, he stopped _well a little delay won't hurt_. Smiling like a little kid in a toy store, he started towards the front doors. Before he entered he realized he had no money and he slapped himself in the forehead for his forgetfulness.

Needing a plan "b", Iroh sat down in front the tea shop and started begging for money. His efforts did little more than result in a few copper coins but not enough to buy even a small cup of tea.

"Some money for a thirsty old man?" Iroh said, hoping for something more than a copper coin from the rich man that now stood in front of him.

Just laughing at the thought of begging for money, the rich man dropped in a few copper coins in front of Iroh, just a little more than the usual passer. Still not enough for a cup of tea.

Disappointed at his lack of luck, Iroh was nearly ready to just give up on tea for today, when he spotted a familiar face handing out some kind of flyer to people who were just passing by. It was the Water Tribe girl.

Iroh was just about ready to disappear back into the crowd when she spotted him. However she had not recognized the Avatar's former pursuer yet. Running up to him, Katara, if he had remembered her name correctly held out a flyer. Iroh took it, keeping his face to the ground.

"Thank you," He said doing his best to distort his voice.

"You're welcome," She replied, "you let us know if you see anything."

"I will" Iroh turned to leave, but the girl would not let him go.

"You look thirsty," Katara said thoughtfully as she spotted the small pile of coins at his feet. "Here you go," She smiled and handed him a gold piece. "Get yourself a meal and something hot to drink."

"You're too kind." Iroh thanked her as she waved goodbye and continued down the street, handing out flyers as she went.

_Nice Girl _Iroh thought as he looked down at the gold piece in his hand. Realizing he still held her flyer in the other hand. He unrolled it. It was a picture of the Avatar's bison and he apparently was missing. The flyer also gave an address where to go if he had any information and, of course, Iroh had some information for the Avatar.

ATLAB

Zuko, Lang and Sen-Su once again stopped running as they felt they were safe deep in the woods. The rain, that had fallen earlier, had stopped some time ago, but the path that they now walked on was damp and muddy. They trudged along, not one of them saying a single word about what had happened.

The Banished Prince himself, was equally surprised at the events that had taken place. It had not occurred to Zuko how much he had hurt other people in the past, just like Azula, and he definitely did not want to be like his sister. In his rage he had nearly achieved that very thing.

Keri had brought the horrible things he had done in his chase with the Avatar into the light, but that's not the only thing she had revealed. He now knew the Avatar was in Ba Sing Se. Right under his nose the whole time! The Banished Prince had many regrets in his past efforts to catch the boy, but right now he felt they were necessary. After all, how else was he supposed to win back his honor and his father's love?

His destiny is to become Fire Lord, Zuko felt sure one way or another. But first he needed his ticket home; The Avatar. That would show Azula, and his father would love him again. His honor, his country and his throne would be waiting for him and all he needed was the Avatar to make it possible. The only thing that is keeping him from his destiny are the two very large walls of Ba Sing Se.

While Zuko was lost in thought, Sen and Lang were having another conversation about what to do with the Prince of the Fire Nation once they arrived back at camp.

"We should turn him in," Lang argued, "he is our enemy."

"No," Sen-Su whispered back, "he is our friend, Zuko has saved our lives and the lives of others. I know he has changed, he is not like the other Firebenders who are blood thirsty and power hungry."

"He _has_ saved people," Lang replied thoughtfully, "but we don't know his motivation. Prince Zuko may be in this for his personal gain."

"Yeah right," Sen said sarcastically, "What does he have to gain, by sleeping in the mud and fighting on the side of the Earth Kingdom?"

"I don't know," Lang said, while thinking of any reason why Prince Zuko might have 'changed'. "Look, last I've heard, he is wanted with a huge bounty on his head. He may just be using us as a cover. Zuko may turn on us at any moment. He is Fire Nation and can't be trusted."

As Lang said this, Zuko unsheathed one of his swords. Striking faster than lighting, he knocked the blade from Lang's grasp as he struggled to pull it out of its sheath. Then in one fluid motion, he pinned Lang's head to the ground with his other hand.

Sen-Su, not sure how exactly to react to his companion's actions, drew his sword and leveled it at the Banished Prince.

"Zuko, what are you doing!?" Sen cried in astonishment. "I thought you had changed!"

The Banished Prince sheathed his sword. His one hand, however, kept Lang's face in the mud. Then swinging his leg, Zuko kicked Sen's sword from his grasp with a small fire blast. Sen-Su stood still, not quite willing to make a move.

"I have changed," Zuko said as he relaxed and the fierce expression gone from his face.

He straightened up and held out his hand. Lang was reluctant to take it at first, but eventually he grabbed his hand and Zuko helped him to his feet. Sen was still too stunned to move.

"What was that!?" Sen-Su asked as he regained his composure.

"You two have been the closest to friends I've ever had," Zuko replied. "I'm sorry, but I need to leave."

"Why?" Sen asked, "You can't, it will be considered treason. After all the Earth camp is only a couple hours away."

"There's something I need to do," Zuko replied as he looked in the direction of Ba Sing Se's great walls.

"You're after the Avatar again, aren't you?" Lang said after putting together the pieces.

"It's the only way I can return home," Zuko answered, as he touched his scar briefly and quickly moved his hand away.

"How… how did you get that scar?" Sen reluctantly asked after he noticed Zuko's brief contact with it.

"It's my mark," Zuko answered, "The mark of the Banished Prince, cursed to chase the Avatar forever."

"You realize," Lang said as he picked up his sword, "We can't let you go after the Avatar. He is our only hope at winning this war." He pointed the blade at Zuko.

"Don't try to stop me," Zuko said, glancing at the sword. "You can't and I don't want to hurt you."

"Let it go, Zuko," Lang begged. "Help the Avatar end this war. You've seen what kind of destruction it has caused."

"I can't fight against my own father," Zuko replied. "I'm sorry." The Banished Prince started to leave, but Lang still stood in his way.

"Move," Zuko said sternly, but Lang refused. "You cannot stop me."

"I have to try," Lang shrugged, and swung his sword at the Prince. On its down stroke, Zuko grabbed his wrist and twisted the blade out of his hand. Then he threw Lang back into the mud.

"You've tried," Zuko simply said before walking off in the direction of Ba Sing Se.

"Stop him, Sen!" Lang shouted from his position in the mud, but Sen refused to move.

"How's he going to get into Ba Sing Se anyway?" Sen shrugged, as he helped his fallen companion out of the mud.

That was a good question. How was he supposed to infiltrate the most heavily guarded city in the world? Then again, maybe _Zuko_ didn't need to.

**Thanks for reading! **

**Chapter 16 is coming soon. **


	16. Alliance

Alliance

Chapter 16

Iroh moved through the streets of the upper ring in the rather large city of Ba Sing Se. It hadn't been easy sneaking past the heavily guarded check points that were placed in various sections to keep the thieves and beggars out of the wealthy portion of the great city. But with a change of costume it became easier, being a wealthy teashop owner rather than a crippled old man.

_Just look like you belong, _Iroh reminded himself as he passed two Earth Kingdom guards. He smiled and waved to them, which they returned with a short bow. Continuing down the street, he passed many amazing variations of Earth Kingdom architecture before he came to the house he was looking for.

Taking a deep breath, he double checked the address on the lost Appa poster. So with that, he let his knuckle land on the door. He was not exactly sure how the Avatar and his friends were going to react to him asking them for help. After all, he did aide in his nephew's chase all over the world, however it _is _the Avatar's job to help people.

Iroh is a person, well at least he hoped he was in their eyes. Earning their trust and forgiveness may not be as easy as he anticipated. After there was, no answer, he knocked again, this time it was opened by a sleepy eyed Avatar. Iroh had no doubt he'd been out all night looking for his lost bison.

"Good morning," Iroh said with a large smile. Aang hadn't recognized the old man, yet.

"Good morning," Aang replied, rubbing his nearly closed eyes.

"I have news of your lost…" Iroh was cut off by the twelve year old Airbender's cry.

Realizing who was at the door, the young Avatar launched himself backwards. Landing on a table in the middle of the room where the Water Tribe siblings and the blind Earth bender were eating their breakfast. Eggs and rice flew in different directions as he got into his Airbending stance.

"Aang!" Sokka shouted as his meal covered himself.

"Hey!" Katara yelled, while bending her beverage out of her clothing.

"What's your deal Twinkle Toes?" Toph said, angry at the interruption in her breakfast. She stopped when she realized what had startled the Avatar. Toph stood up as she recognized a familiar presence. "Glad to know you're ok." She smiled at the old man.

Katara and Sokka had very different reactions. In fact, they were not exactly sure how to react.

"What are you doing here!?" Sokka blurted as he took out his boomerang.

"I have news on where to find your lost bison," Iroh said.

"You know where to find Appa?!" Aang shouted with hopeful excitement as he jumped off the table and rush towards the firebender. "Where?"

"I'll tell you, but I need your help." Iroh replied.

ATLAB

Li-ro was nearing the end of his morning shift, as he continued down the metal walkway in the large Fire Nation drill. He hated these early mornings, they always left him warn out for the rest of the day. The Fire Nation would have used the drill to break through to the other side of Ba Sing Se's first wall, that is if they hadn't been stopped by the young Avatar.

_It must be hard for someone so young to take on such large responsibility, _The Earth soldier thought to himself. The entire crew, excluding Princess Azula and War Minister Chang, had been taken to some unknown location for interrogation.

Nodding to another Earth Kingdom soldier as they past each other, Li-ro spotted something out of the corner of his eye. The other soldier passed out sight as he felt sure someone else was near.

"Is someone there?!" He called out, no answer. Maybe it was just his imagination, or a trick played by his tired mind. But no, he knew he had seen someone turn the corner up ahead.

Gripping his spear, because Earthbending was useless in the metal drill, so using caution, he stepped forward.

"Who's there?!" He called out, still no answer.

As he turned the corner, the Earth soldier allowed himself to relax a bit. No one was nearby. Then as if out of nowhere, a figure landed in front of him. Before he could react, one of the Spirit's blades sliced through his spear. Getting a glimpse of the blue and white mask of who, he was sure to be the Blue Spirit. Then with the other sword, the Blue Spirit used his hilt, by slamming it into the soldier's head, falling to the ground as the Earth soldier's mind went blank.

ATLAB

"As long as it's not taking over the Earth Kingdom," Sokka said, hoping to get a smile out the group, but only received a sharp elbow from his sister. "What!?"

Iroh let out a small chuckle. "No, I need your help on a different matter and it _is_ the Avatar's job to help people."

"I say we help him," Sokka said, clearly proud of himself for making a sarcastic comment that was worthy of laughter.

"Since when are you in such a hurry to help someone?" Katara questioned her brother's peculiar behavior.

"Hey," Sokka said in defense, "He helped us at the North Pole."

"That's true."

"Of course he did cause the loss of Yue…" Sokka said, thinking out loud. "Then again it _was_ her choice… but Iroh did help invade in the first place…"

Going back and forth with reasons why he should or shouldn't help the old man, Sokka seemed lost in his own train of thought. While his Water Tribe friend was deciding whether or not to help Iroh, Aang was more interested in knowing if Iroh really could reunite him with his lost friend.

"Can you really take me to Appa?" Aang asked, still hopeful that he could find his bison.

"I can," Iroh answered, then raised a brow at the still disputing Sokka. "Is he going to be ok?" He asked, The Dragon of the West had never really seen someone so lost in side himself.

"Yeah, he'll be fine," Katara answered, she wasn't sure if she was amazed or disturbed by her brother's 'unique' attributes.

"Ok," Aang said, "You take us to Appa and we will help you. Now what is it you need our help with?"

"I need your help finding my nephew."

"He did chase us all over the world… But he never really did anything…" Sokka was immediately snapped out of his thoughts. "Hold on, do you mean Zuko or some other nephew?"

Iroh shrugged, "I mean Zuko."

"Then the answer is no." Sokka answered with a slight edge in his voice. "The guy has a list a mile long why we shouldn't help him. I mean, he attacked our home, chased Aang…"

He was cut off by Katara, who covered her brother's mouth. "We don't need to go through that again."

"What happened to Zuko?" Aang asked, curious to how much he would need to risk by helping his enemy.

"He was taken by the Di Lai" Iroh answered.

"The Di Lai!?" All four of the kids exclaimed at once. Aang however continued. "If the Di Lai have Zuko, he's probably imprisoned somewhere near the Earth King's palace."

"No, I don't think so." Iroh replied, "Long Feng didn't know Zuko was Fire Nation when he took him. I believe he had Zuko shanghaied into the Earth Kingdom Army."

"Now that would be something to see," Sokka said with a huge grin, imagining the same Prince Zuko who chased them all over the world, ending up fighting for the Earth Kingdom. But the fact, he _did_ chase them and attack them more than once, held Sokka back from jumping into the situation. Looking at the Airbender, Sokka could not help but ask, "You're not seriously thinking of helping _Prince _Zuko!"

"If it will help get Appa back," Aang answered, "I will do anything."

"Besides, my nephew has changed." Iroh insisted, "There is good in him. He is not the same man he was a few months ago."

"Fine," Sokka said reluctantly. "If it will help us find Appa, that is the priority."

"All agreed?" Aang asked the group. Resulting in a definite "Yes" from Toph and a slight nod from Katara. "It's settled then. We will help you rescue Prince Zuko after you take us to Appa."

Iroh smiled, everything was going to work out after all. He just hoped his nephew would understand why he went to the Avatar for help.

ATLAB

Zuko was disguised by the blue and white mask he had slipped into his belongings since the Fire Nation town. It was certainly lucky that they used masks at all the Fire Nation festivals.

Moving down the corridor he suddenly came to a dead end. He was stuck. Zuko had been sure the drill had penetrated the wall. There had to be some way out, _any way_. It was not long until he spotted the answer. About twelve feet off the ground, a ventilation shaft looked just big enough for the Banished Prince to crawl through.

Sheathing his swords before shooting a blast of fire, which melted the metal screen off the duct. Then launching himself upwards he grabbed onto the sides and pulled himself into shaft.

After what seemed like hours of endless crawling through a maze of ducts. Zuko finally felt a slight breeze brush by his face. Knowing that his exit was coming up, he picked up his pace. Before long he came across a slope that led down to the opening.

Allowing himself to slide down the vent, he knocked out the screen, landing on the ground inside the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. Prince Zuko had just penetrated the first wall of the un-penetrable city.

Taking no time to absorb his conquest, the Blue Spirit continued over the farm land towards the Earth tram, hoping to catch a ride through to the inner wall.

**Authors Note: Thanks for your patience! I know it's been a long time since I last updated, but I used the time to revise some of my previous chapters. (Not changing the story line of course) After this chapter I believe I will wrap this story up in the next four chapters.**

**Thanks for reading! **


	17. Confrontations

Chapter 17

**Confrontations**

Zuko stayed clutched to the side of the Earth tram. He was just high enough that he could avoid being caught in the track, but low enough that he was able to stay out of sight if a weary traveler peered out the window. The banished Prince still wore his new Blue Spirit mask. It was similar to his old mask, despite a few differences that the average person wouldn't notice.

He always felt better hiding his face behind the blue and white mask. When he wore it, he was no longer the banished Prince whose father scarred him for speaking out of turn or whose own sister would kill in a heart beat. It had started out as just a way to keep his face hidden from the Fire Nation soldiers and the Avatar who would recognize him, and ruin his chance of recapturing the boy. But somehow, it had become a part of him.

By the rapid reduction in speed, Zuko knew that the tram was soon ready to stop. Quickly he began to scope out a way into the city unnoticed, so he could complete the next step in his plan. His body ached from the limits he had forced himself to succeed and his mind screamed in need of rest. But he ignored it all, he had to.

His chance at redemption was too close to let a little thing like rest get in his way, he didn't need it. As the tram slid to a stop, the banished Prince waited until the people were busy bustling out of the doors and going their own ways. Zuko figured they would be busy with their own problems at the moment to notice a man in a blue and white mask. Still, he knew he would need to use caution to get around the crowd.

So taking off his mask, Zuko tucked it into his rain poncho, which he still wore. True enough, he was not dressed like the Blue Spirit, but the mask was what really made him the infamous Spirit. Zuko casually walked through the crowd, if anyone cared he had two broad swords strapped to his back, they gave no sign of doing anything. They were just happy to be safely behind the walls of Ba Sing Se.

Zuko knew, that once he was on the inside the wall, he would once again need to don his infamous mask. He had no doubt that Long Feng would have agents out looking for him, that is, if somehow news of his desertion reached the secretariat's ears.

ATLAB

"Lang, Sen-Su? " Loam shouted when he spotted his two formally MIA comrades coming into camp. They were tired and dirty, but that was better shape than what the Earth Captain expected of them. "You ok? It's good to see you!"

When the other members of their unit saw what all the commotion was about, they all rushed out to greet the new arrivals. In all the confusion and excitement, the question got asked about what had happened to Lee. Both Lang and Sen-Su knew that question would be brought up sooner or later, unfortunately neither of them knew what to say and all eyes seemed to be on them.

"Well, what happened to Lee?" Katso demanded, when the two failed to answer right away. Sen-Su and Lang glanced at each other, not sure how to explain, Lee really being a reformed Prince Zuko.

"Lee…" Sen-Su started to explain, but was cut off by Lang.

"is dead," Lang finished with an answer surprising Sen, as well as the rest of the unit. "He was killed by the Rough Rhinos."

"He was a good man," Loam said, shaking his head sadly, " a brave man and deserves the honor of a hero."

After they finished greeting each other they all gathered for a short service in honor of Lee, who unknown to the Earth soldiers was the son of Fire Lord Ozai, their enemy. Sen, however had his thoughts on a different matter. It was Lang, he didn't understand. The man had been ready to hand Zuko over to the Earth General without a second thought.

Zuko and Lang hadn't exactly parted on friendly words either. That is if you count Lang attacking Zuko with a sword, which was ended by Zuko rubbing Lang's face in the mud. No, something was definitely up with Lang, and Sen-Su intended to find what it was. After all, they could both get into serious trouble for hiding an enemy of the Earth Kingdom, who was still bent on capturing their only hope at winning the hundred year war.

Later that day after they cleaned up and were debriefed by the Earth General, which resulted in Lang once again lying to a superior officer, Sen decided that the best way to really find out what was going on was to confront the problem at the source. He was able to corner the soldier in his tent.

Lang appeared to have just finished a letter and was on his way to deliver it when Sen stopped him.

"What's going on Lang?" Sen asked casually. Lang looked genuinely confused by the other man's question.

"Nothing much… I'm just mailing a letter to my parents." Lang answered while waving a letter in front of his face.

"You mean _parent _don't you?" Sen said, emphasizing the fact that Lang had told him he had lost his father to the Fire Nation. " And maybe your little sister? Oh, wait, I forgot you lost her to the Fire Nation as well didn't you?"

Lang looked stunned, as his face turned red with anger at Sen's accusations. Or maybe it was something else…

"How dare you talk about my family like that!" Lang's hand clenched tight around the piece of parchment.

"Prove to me that you are not a traitor," Sen said, more calmly realizing he had hit a nerve. "I'll apologize one hundred times over if it's not true. Just let me see the letter."

"I don't understand," Lang answered. "You have no reason to believe that I would betray my country."

"But you have," Sen pointed out. "We both have, the only difference is I did it for a friend. I'm just not sure why you have… Let me see the letter, Lang."

Lang did not answer, he seemed lost in his thoughts. His face was still hard with anger.

"You may have forgotten but I am your commanding officer, soldier!" Sen shouted after a moment of silence. "Hand over the letter or risk being reported as a traitor." At that moment Sen stopped being a friend and once again resumed his role as an officer of the Earth Kingdom. When Lang did not move, Sen reached out and snatched the letter from the Earth soldier's hand.

Opening the letter, Sen had to only read the first line to realize he had made a terrible mistake. His face paled as he looked up and saw Lang with a small smile on his face.

"What's this?" Sen stammered as he read, "To the head of the representatives of the Cultural Authority of Ba Sing Se." Sen stopped reading, "Isn't that…"

"The Di Lai." Lang finished, holding his hand to the ground. Stones rose out of the dirt and formed a glove around his hand. Then, before Sen knew what was happening, the stone glove shot off his hand and grabbed hold of Sen's neck. Gasping for air as Lang spoke, Sen could not believe what was happening.

"It's true, I'm an agent of the Di Lai, specifically selected to keep an eye on Lee whom I now know to be Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation." Lang said casually, while keeping his arm out stretched to keep control of the rocks that now threatened to squeeze the life out his former comrade. With his other hand he took the letter from Sen-Su's grasp. "I was ordered to be undercover so deep, even to the extent of not bending."

"I don't understand…" Sen gasped.

"Of course you don't," Lang sneered while tightening his grip, making Sen struggle a little bit harder. "You are just an Earth peasant. I have been trained since birth in the culture of Ba Sing Se and in the art of bending to the extent of perfection."

As Lang tightened his grip a little bit more, Sen drew his sword and with one last exertion of energy, he sliced through the rock so close that he nearly severed his own head from his shoulders. Falling to the ground before he stood up, staggering a bit he faced the young Di Lai agent.

Gripping his sword tightly in his hand, this time ready if Lang decided to attack again. But he didn't, he just stood there with an amused look on his face.

"You must understand, the news of Prince Zuko in the Earth Kingdom army must be classified information. Any news of the Fire Prince threatening our army must not be spoken of." Lang turned to walk out of the tent, but as he reached the entrance way he stopped and turned to Sen, "If any news of Zuko's identity or mine for that matter is leaked, it will result in your permanent end. Do you understand, _soldier?_"

With that, Lang disappeared out of the tent. Confronting Lang had not gone exactly how he planned. But now Sen realized he was in the middle of something more dangerous than a war.

**Author's Note: Thanks to all of you who have been patient with me the last few weeks, I've been in kind of a writing slump. (I'll blame it on the lack of new Avatar episodes). Anyway thanks for reading and I'll post the next chapter soon. **


	18. Under Lake Laogia

**Previously on Prince Zuko: Shanghaied…**

Pronounced dead by the Earth Army, Prince Zuko infiltrated Ba Sing Se in search of the Avatar. Making it back to the Earth Kingdom camp, Sen-Su finds that he has an enemy in Lang who he has revealed to be a Di Lai agent. Meeting up with the Gaang, Iroh becomes allies with them and takes them to Lake Laogia in search of Appa. After the death of the former General at the hands of Prince Zuko, Princess Azula now leads the Fire Nation Army on a collision course with the Earth Kingdom…

**Warning: Character Death **

**The Battle Under Lake Laogia**

Chapter 18

Zuko kept silent as he moved through the passageways, under which he discovered to be Lake Laogia. After persuading a surprisingly helpful Di Lai agent into revealing the location of the Avatar's bison, that it would be better to help him than end up like the dismembered manikin, the banished prince had fooled him with. The agent was willing to give the Blue Spirit any information he asked for, including how to break into the under water fortress.

Moving through the corridors and dodging the various Di Lai agents that swarmed Lake Laogia. Zuko wondered around for quite awhile, getting lost in the maze. He reached dead ends and had a few close calls with a few patrolling Di Lai, but still no bison.

Suddenly Zuko turned the corner of one of the many hallways, only to quickly duck back, as a charge of Di Lai came running down the hallway.

"Hurry!" Zuko heard one of them shout, "We are being attacked!"

"It's the Avatar!" Another shouted, in the confusion.

_The Avatar… _Zuko's mind rushed with the possibilities, _The Avatar is here, now?_

As the majority of the agents passed, Zuko stepped out into the hall. Then, just as the banished prince was about to follow the crowd, he spotted a stone glove out of the corner of his eye. Reacting with the lightning fast reflexes of his swinging sword, he saved his life by causing the glove to shatter, instead of piercing his body, as was the intention of the attacker.

"What are you doing here?" A lone Di Lai agent sneered.

Zuko however found no need to answer. Instead, he rushed forward; dodging the second glove and then using the wall, he launched himself into the air and finished the Di Lai agent with one clean stroke. Nothing was going to get in his way in his quest to restore his honor. _Nothing_

ATLAB

"So, Avatar." Long Feng said his voice was in the usual calm manor. "You thought you could disrupt the order of my city?"

"Where is Appa?" Aang shouted he knew he had Katara, Sokka and Toph behind him. He even had a new ally, General Iroh of the Fire Nation, but he was not sure that they would be enough against the hundreds of Di Lai agents that poured into the room under Lake Laogia.

"Leave now and I will return your lost pet."

"No, the corruption in Ba Sing Se ends now!" Iroh said, taking a Fire bending stance.

"Ah, yes." Long Feng smiled, "General Iroh, 'The Dragon of the West', we meet again. I guess one failure at Ba Sing Se was not enough."

"That chapter of my life is behind me," Iroh said, shaking his head. "I now know my destiny is to help the Avatar, who is the _only _one capable of saving your city and the world. The Fire Nation is no doubt sitting at your doorstep! You only care about your own power and that will be your destruction. But you can end that now; just listen to what the boy has to say."

The secretariat paused considering his options. The old man had a point; the Avatar would be a great asset to the Earth Kingdom and would make defeating the Fire Nation easier. Even if he were just a little boy, at the very least he would help with morale. It would be good for the soldiers to know the Avatar was behind them.

However, he had no doubt the foolish young man would turn complete control over to the Earth King, who in Long Feng's opinion was not fit to run a tea shop, much less an entire city. Losing the power he had worked so hard to achieve was not an option, O well he would just need to find another asset, to help him win the war.

Long Feng had his answer.

"I think I'll consider other options," he said, and then turned to his agents. "Arrest the traitors in the name of the Earth King."

ATLAB

"Captain," Sen, said opening the flap that led to his fellow Captain's tent. "We need to talk."

"About what?" It was late, but Loam was still up. He had been going over the recent Fire Nation activity in the last week. The enemy's actions had become much more, well… aggressive to say the least and their tactics were incredible. No doubt, the Fire Lords daughter had more to offer than just looks.

They have been closing in on Ba Sing Se from all sides. Seemingly unstoppable, only the main army and the Great Walls of Ba Sing Se stand in their way of total conquest.

"It's about Lang."

Loam looked up, "is there something wrong?"

"Yes," Sen said deciding just too just come out with it. "But you must understand that we need to keep it off the record," taking a deep breath he said, "Lang is a Di Lai agent."

"What?" Sen had captured Captain Loam's attention, "What is the cultural authority doing in the army?"

"Well…" Sen-Su, started, "Lang was not completely honest the other day."

"About what exactly?" Loam questioned, curious to what the soldier had lied about.

"Zuko is alive," Sen, explained. "And he on his way to Ba Sing Se to capture the Avatar…"

"Hold on, hold on," Loam stopped him there. "What does Prince Zuko have to do with anything?"

"That's just it!" Sen said, "Lee was really Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Lang's mission was to keep an eye on Lee."

In Sen-Su's opinion, the other Earth Captain was taking the news surprisingly well. Until Loam got up and moved towards the flap of his tent.

"Where are you going?" Sen asked, worried that the captain was going to do something that they would both regret.

"I need to report this to the General," Loam said, as he opened the flap.

"But you can't," Sen protested. "Have you heard nothing I've said? If a Di Lai agent is spying on the Earth Army, it clearly means the Di Lai is in control of Ba Sing Se, which means Long Feng is the true ruler, not the Earth King."

"I still think the Earth General, needs to know about this," Loam said sternly.

"But…" Sen was going to protest again.

"Look!" Loam snapped, "The Fire Nation is closing in on Ba Sing Se, with an incredible army, which at this point seems to be unstoppable. We already lost Omasu, our Northern Post, and Eastern Post. _We _are the last of the Earth Army and the only thing that stands between Ba Sing Se's freedom and its conquest is us."

After Loam's out burst, he stormed out of the tent. Sen had nothing else to say, he now knew he had started a very dangerous chain of events, which could be his end as well as the end of the Earth Army.

ATLAB

Long Feng had no sooner given the order, for the Avatar's arrest, before one of his own agents rushed forward, pushing himself through the army of Di Lai that now filled the room. The crazed agent launched himself off a boulder and landed in front of Long Feng himself.

"Back off!" He sneered, "The Avatar is mine."

The Secretariat's confusion gave away as he recognized the voice.

"Lee… or should I say Prince Zuko," Long Feng was slightly amused that someone so clever as to infiltrate his fortress, could be so foolish.

Zuko let out a powerful explosion of fire, which vaporized his Di Lai disguise. Taking a Fire Bending stance, he was ready for an attack from either side.

"Zuko?" A confused, but familiar voice reaches the Prince's ears.

"Uncle?" Zuko loosened his stance a bit. "What are you doing with the Avatar?"

"We will talk later," Iroh, said. "But I think a better question is what are you doing facing an army of Di Lai and the Avatar at the same time? Do you ever think these things through?"

Zuko had to admit, he had not thought this through. He knew his Uncle was right as the Di Lai attacked. A fierce battle raged on under Lake Laogia, the Avatar and friends were extremely out numbered, but with the skill of the blind earth bender and the determination of Water Tribe siblings, the battle seemed to turn in the Avatar's favor. Zuko ducked as a stone glove flew towards his head; he returned with a small but powerful pinpoint fire blast that dropped the agent where he stood.

Noticing an attack coming from his left, he was not surprised to see the Water Tribe girl launch a volley of attacks in his direction. The banished prince tumbled out of the way, as the water slammed in to the ground. When he stood up her brother awaited him with machete in hand, Zuko dropped to the ground as the blade passed over his head. The Water Tribe boy then followed through with a downward stroke, causing Zuko to roll out of the way.

He was ready to return the attack, but as the fire formed around his fist, a blast of air sent him sprawled across the floor. Zuko stood up as quickly as he could, ready for any attack. However, he was surprised to find himself face to face with Long Feng.

The Di Lai, were too busy with his Uncle and the Avatar's friends to notice that their leader was relatively unprotected. Zuko got into his Fire bending stance, and with out saying a word he launched a fireball at the secretariat. Long Feng raised a wall of rock, to protect himself, but his Earth bending was not powerful enough to absorb the anger and hatred Zuko poured into the blast.

_So he is a bender _Zuko thought to himself, he enjoyed his superiority over someone so powerful, despite all his wealth and power, Long Feng would be no match for the banished prince. Zuko rushed up to the recovering Long Feng, who in return launched a half-hearted attack at the banished prince. Zuko easily kicked the small boulder out of the way, then reaching down he grabbed the man by the collar.

Drawing one of his swords, he placed it at Long Feng's neck. "The battle ends now!"

No one seemed to hear him, but as Zuko's anger raged. He shouted again. "This Battle is over!" This time flames roared out of his mouth.

Long Feng, previously a proud man quivered at the blade pressed against his throat and the monster like roar his captor unleased. The battle around them ceased, as the Di Lai noticed their leader was being held captive. The Avatar, Uncle, and the Avatar's friends stared at Zuko.

"Zuko what…?" Iroh began to ask, but silenced himself, for lack of words.

"Zuko don't ," Aang said, as he dropped his staff.

"You are going to defend him?" Zuko asked stunned that the Avatar was standing up for the man who made his life miserable. "After all he's done? Why shouldn't I just end him now?"

"Because all life is sacred, but no matter how horrible you think he's been," Aang said calmly. "You will become just like him, maybe worse if you kill him like this. I know you have good in you Zuko. I've seen it before."

"Listen to the boy," Iroh said, backing up the Avatar. Some how, the Avatar's words meant nothing until his uncle interfered. "You've been traveling down the road of hatred, Zuko. You need to let it all go; it is time for a fresh start. The Avatar and his friends are willing to forgive you."

At this Sokka and Katara shrugged, Aang nodded and Toph remained neutral. Iroh continued, "you must have seen the destruction this war has reaped on the world. It's time for the death and devastation to end."

Zuko closed his eyes taking it all in. They were right, he knew. So many had died pointlessly in this war and now was the time for it to end. A single tear rolled down from his good eye. Zuko's hunger and fatigue was finnaly catching up to him as his anger began to fade.

"Where is the Avatar's bision?" He whispered into the secretariat's ear. The onlookers, including the Di Lai watched silently. Each person unsure of what the outcome might be.

"Cell…45" He answered, quietly. "Please just let me go, you could… help me… control Ba Sing Se. Yes that's it."

Zuko ignored, all but the cell number the bison was located. The rest was just the rambling of a coward begging for his life.

"Did you hear that?" Zuko asked the Avatar, who nodded. "Go get your bison and help defend this city."

As the Avatar and friends exited the room, he turned to the remaining Di Lai agents. "Leave now, all of you!"

"Do as he says!" Long Feng reinforced Zuko's words.

The Di Lai poured out of the room, none of them exactly sure what to do next. They were to obey orders, at _all_ times and Long Feng had told them to leave. Therefore, they left.

When only Zuko, Iroh and Long Feng remained, the banished prince tossed Long Feng aside. Iroh ran up and embraced Zuko, "I'm so proud of you." He said as Zuko returned the hug.

"I'm so sorry," Zuko was more heart felt than he had been in a long time. "I'm ashamed of how I treated you. Uncle, you have stood by me, as a real father should. Thank you."

Long Feng interrupted their hug. Iroh, who was always more aware of his surroundings than he often let on, noticed the secretariat, had raised a stone out of the ground and had Zuko in his sights. Before he was able to follow through with his surprise attack, The Dragon of the West, unleased a lightning strike, which ripped through Long Feng's chest and stopped his heart where he stood.

The Secretariat of Ba Sing Se fell, dead.

**Author's Note: Thank you all for reading, I have been in a dry spell for quite sometime, but I think it has just ended. So, my last two chapters will be coming soon! **


	19. Letter of Treason

**Letter of Treason**

Chapter 19

The Di Lai agent known as Qwan strolled down the hallway towards the room that was formerly, the now deceased, Long Feng's office. The events that had taken place a day before were unnerving. Their long time leader who had clawed his way to power was now gone, leaving the Di Lai without a head.

Being a senor officer of the Di Lai, Qwan was one of the few Di Lai agents who were qualified to attend this secret meeting. A meeting, which would certainly decide the future of the Di Lai, possibly ending with the election of a new leader. It would be interesting, no matter what direction they went.

None of the Di Lai have any idea how to lead, only do they know how to follow orders. Long Feng had not taken the time to set one agent aside from another. True they do have ranks, but those ranks are more based on experience, not necessarily leadership credibility.

Qwan pushed open the heavy twin doors which lead into the office. The green fire, behind Long Feng's desk, gave off the only light. It was a comfortable green glow, but the flickering of the fire light gave the room an eerie appearance.

A table was set in the middle of the room, however the five agents who had arrived before Qwan stood around the table. They preferred standing instead of sitting. Each one of them kept their helmets low, keeping their eyes in shadows.

"You're late," Qwan recognized the voice as Lu-shu, who was by far the most experienced, and therefore the highest ranked. Lu-shu seemed to have taken over the meeting as was expected.

"My apologies," Qwan said, wondering if all the dramatics were necessary. Then again, judging by the tone of Lu-shu's voice, Qwan may have misjudged the seriousness of the situation. As he took his place at the table, they began.

The Di Lai argued quietly and respectfully, never did they raise their voice above the necessary speaking level. It was quite different from the Earth King's court. They soon decided on two possibilities.

The first: Elect Lu-shu to take over as head of the Di Lai.

The second: The current council of six would take control and meet occasionally to discuss changes needed within the Di Lai.

Each possibility had its own flaw. A major one in both plans was the fact, that neither the council nor Lu-shu knew how to be a proper leader. Qwan was the one who pointed this out. He was sure, Lu-shu was irritated at his accusations, but it was the truth.

"What do you suggest then?" Shing, the second most influential person there asked curiously.

"Our lack of leadership experience is only the first of many problems Long Feng has left us with," Qwan paused.

"Go on," Shing encouraged.

He continued, "After the Avatar went to the Earth King and unveiled Long Feng earlier today, we know that the Earth King will never trust us again. Although Long Feng is no longer with us to take the fall, I feel the Di Lai will take the blunt of the blow. Our new leader will also need to guarantee our survival."

"Do you suggest we take a leader from the outside?" Lu-shu asked a hint of irritation in his voice. "Who could possibly be qualified to lead the Di Lai?"

"Maybe," Qwan responded, "perhaps we turn to the Earth King…"

"Absolutely not," Lin, another council member interrupted. "The Di Lai is separated from the Earth King to ensure the keeping of the cultural authority in Ba Sing Se. Long Feng may have added, ah well, extracurricular actives to the list but you must remember our duty is first to the cultural aspect of the city."

A fact they all knew, but no matter how many times the cultural side of the city was brought up, they could not get the taste of power Long Feng had placed in their mouths, out.

"The Fire Nation is another problem," Su-son spoke up. "They have nearly destroyed our army, and have our city surrounded. Who cares if we survive in the city if outside forces are threatening to break through our walls and destroy the great city anyway?"

They were silent for a second. Every member that now stood around this table remembered what had happened under Lake Laogia. How Prince Zuko had taken control of the situation, striking fear into Long Feng, their former leader.

"We all remember what had happened under Lake Laogia." Shing said, "We all saw what the Fire Prince did."

"You're not seriously suggesting that we turn command over to Prince Zuko," Lu-shu asked.

"No," Shing answered, "Prince Zuko is an outcast of the Fire Nation. With him we would be no better off than before. But with Princess Azula…"

"Stop," Qwan interrupted. "Your next words may push us into treason."

"We already crossed that line a long time ago," Lu-shu snapped. "When Long Feng decided to rule the Earth Kingdom secretly. Let him continue."

Qwan nodded and motioned for Shing to continue.

"If the _banished _prince can strike fear into Long Feng, imagine what the Fire Lord's crown jewel could do. Princess Azula is already the commander of the Fire Nation army. She is a proven leader and anyway, if they break through now, there is no doubt she will destroy the city." Shing continued, "Our first loyalty is to the cultural aspect of Ba Sing Se. So I am offering an exchange, we help the Fire Nation take Ba Sing Se and in return they spare the citizens of the city and the city itself. If they keep their side, we will offer our loyalties to Princess Azula, who is without a doubt a great leader herself."

It was a risky plan, but it was by far the best any of them could come up with. A change in government, to go along with a new leadership would no doubt wipe Long Feng's sins off the Di Lai. They went around, either saying a simple 'Yes' or 'No' if they agreed or disagreed. By the end they all agreed. Lu-shu sat down to write a letter addressed to the Princess of the Fire Nation. After it was complete, they signed it and stamped it with the seal of the Di Lai.

ATLAB

Prince Zuko stared out the window of his new apartment in the upper ring of the city. With Long Feng dead and the Avatar dealing with other problems, Zuko and Iroh had nothing to do but go back to a 'normal' existence. The day after Lake Laogia, Iroh had gone back to Pal to see if he could get his old job back. Pal denied Iroh his job, but as he was leaving, a wealthy man from the upper ring stopped Iroh and told him how much he liked his tea. In return the man gave Iroh a house in the upper ring and his own tea shop.

Yes, things were certainly looking up. Two days had passed and Zuko regained his strength as well as catching up on some well deserved rest. However, the banished prince could not help but feel he was needed elsewhere. He had unintentionally formed a bond with the Earth Kingdom soldiers and hoped to see them again.

Hope was a word he had not used in a long time, at least not without the Avatar's involvement. He was happy, with his uncle. Yes, happy was also another word he did not often attribute to his life. Seeing the war first hand had defiantly changed his prospective on life.

Zuko got up from his window seat, tying the apron around his waist. He walked across their new apartment and out the door, on the way to work in his uncle's tea shop. No matter how well life seemed to be going, he knew the war was far from over and Azula was out there looking for him. He knew Azula never failed at anything, and Zuko knew he would not be safe until she was taken care of.

ATLAB

Princess Azula rolled up the piece of parchment and set it gently on her desk inside her quarters. It was an interesting proposal the Di Lai had offered, they had described their desperation and need for new leadership. Even more interesting it claimed her brother Prince Zuko and her uncle had been directly involved in the assassination of their beloved leader Long Feng.

Keeping her face neutral, Azula crossed her legs and faced the Di Lai agent who had brought her the message. The fact that they sent one of their own into enemy territory showed that they were serious. This was the only reason the princess was even considering their offer. After all, this could easily be a trap, but all good sense told her not to jump to any conclusions.

The agent who stood before her was dressed in a long green robe with an Earth Kingdom insignia on his chest. His bowl like helmet was kept low covering his eyes. He showed patience and gave no sign of being at all nervous. All this despite his situation and his young age, yet he was still older than Azula herself.

"Interesting," Azula said coolly, "but how can I be sure this is not a trap?"

"I assure you, Princess, that it is not," the agent answered still he kept his eyes covered. "We have been betrayed by the Earth King and the Avatar, who allowed your banished brother freedom to assassinate our beloved leader."

"Yes," Azula said thoughtfully, knowing the full account of events leading up to the death of Long Feng, including Zuko's infiltration of the Earth Army. "Perhaps you _are_ telling the truth and we _could_ be allies. But why do I need the cultural protectors? I could just as easily break through the walls myself."

"Princess, the Di Lai are an elite group of benders, each one of us is trained in a unique form of bending that is superior to all other forms of Earth Bending. It was developed by Avatar Kyoshi herself." Azula noted that the agent said this with pride in his voice. "You could spend month's maybe years trying to break through the first wall. But with the Di Lai, the walls could be brought down in less than a day. With us on the inside you will have a huge advantage."

Azula considered what the agent said, keeping in mind her uncle's legendary failure at Ba Sing Se. The princess often criticized and looked down on her uncle Iroh for his soft heart, but also in the same way she respected his military genius. If it took months for him to break through the first wall, Azula had no idea how long it would take her. After all, she had limited supplies and the Avatar to worry about.

After a moment lost in thought, Azula finally said, "Alright, we have a deal. If the Di Lai takes down the walls of Ba Sing Se, we will spare the city, however the citizens will be subject to Fire Nation rule." .

"Agreed," the agent nodded.

"But first I would like to see a demonstration." Azula said.

"Of what, your highness?" The agent bowed slightly.

"You're bending abilities of course." After saying that, Azula motioned to her guards.

The Imperial Fire benders attacked. The Di Lai agent shielded himself from the blast by raising a slab of rock out of the ground. Then he returned the attack, by sending each of his gloves at the Fire bender's chest. This would have been a killing blow if the agent had not restrained himself and only sent each of the princess's guards crashing to the ground.

_Impressive_, Azula had to admit to herself. Perhaps this was going to work out better than she had initially expected.

Azula nodded her approval. "What is your name, agent?"

"Lang, mam"

"Alright, Lang." Azula said, "I will send a letter to the Di Lai accepting their offer. But you must stay here as a sign of good faith."

"Very good, Princess." Lang turned as he exited the flap of her tent.

Azula smilled to herself. Fear was a wonderful thing, it gained her the Di Lai and soon she would have the whole Earth Kingdom. Soon she would have her brother and uncle, then she would go after the Avatar… but first, Ba Sing Se must fall.


	20. Part One: The Outer Wall

**The Battle of Ba Sing Se**

Chapter 20

Part 1: The Outer Wall

Sen-Su was with the rest of the Earth army, awaiting the final battle that was soon going to take place outside the outer wall of Ba Sing Se. The great city is the last free city and the only thing that stands between the Fire Nation and total conquest of the Earth Kingdom.

The Fire Nation has closed in on the city, bringing with them all the forces necessary to break through the walls. The Earth Kingdom troops hid in trenches surrounding the massive walls of the city. They would remain hidden until the precise moment they were needed.

Sen sat with his back to one of the walls of the trench. Each trench was in the shape of a rectangle, roughly large enough to hide twenty men from enemy view. As a captain, Sen was in charge of each man in his trench. He would await the signal from the general, then lead his men into battle.

Getting up from his sitting position, Sen took out a small spy glass. After extending it to its full length, he peered out over the dessert landscape. In the distance he could see the Fire Nation camp who, waited patiently to attack. The stand off had nearly gone on for a day now, with no real fighting between the two armies. Only did they exchange the occasional long range attack.

_What is she waiting for? _Sen thought, referring to Princess Azula of the Fire Nation. What did she have to gain by waiting? If it was it a siege, the Earth King could easily send out the thousands of reinforcement troops stored within the first wall. No, it was something different. Sen-Su had heard of the Princess's legendary cruelty in battle tactics and never did she lose.

As Sen-Su watched the Fire Nation army, he noticed that they were getting ready for another long range attack. Their catapults were loaded and ready for the command to launch. Noticing the inevitable oncoming attack, Sen ducked back into the trench.

"It's gonna rain fire!" He shouted using Earth soldier slang for a fire ball attack.

He motioned to the Earthbenders, to raise a slab of rock to cover their trench as the fireball struck the giant wall of Ba Sing Se. Part of the wall crumbled, sending huge pieces of stone to the ground. The earth trembled as the debris struck close to where Sen was hidden.

ATLAB

Iroh watched his nephew hand a customer his tea. He had never been prouder of Zuko than he was at this moment. He truly was a changed man, Iroh was never exactly sure what went on inside that head of his, but it actually seemed that Zuko was content with his life. That was certainly the change he needed.

Zuko left his customer and came back behind the counter where Iroh was watching him.

"We need one cup of Jasmine tea and the special." Zuko said, turning his attention to the task at hand. Iroh remained silently amused at his nephew's new work habit. It did not take long before Zuko noticed his uncle was giving him an odd stare. "What?" Zuko asked.

"Nothing," Iroh shrugged, "it's just that I never seen you so enthusiastic about work."

Zuko was going to reply but he stopped as he heard an explosion outside. It was the Fire Nation, both he and Iroh knew they were at the outer wall, waiting for their opportunity to attack. The bombardment had been happening all morning, but this sounded as if the Fire Nation had hit something big.

Most people in the shop ignored the noise, thinking that it was just part of some big construction process. Iroh and Zuko knew differently. The Fire Prince dropped what he was doing as he rushed outside. His uncle was close behind him. As they peered out across the roof tops, they could see a pillar of smoke rising in the direction of the explosion. Zuko turned to the right as another explosion rippled through and another cloud of black smoke rose up in the air.

The scent of smoke reached Zuko's nostrils, he knew his sister would bring a massive invasion force. Perhapes the biggest in history, Azula was here with one goal in mind: Destroy the Earth Kingdom. People continued through the streets buying and selling things. Accasionally someone would turn and look off in the distance towards the smoke, but would shrug it off and continue on their business, little did they know that their days were numbered.

ATLAB

In the trench out side the outer wall, Sen waited patiently until the steady bombardment slowed, then telling the Earthbenders, to lift their cover, letting in the sunlight. It was a beautiful day, but the sun was nearly blocked out by the cloud of smoke that rose up in the air. Shattered chunks of the wall, lay around the trenches, each piece easily big enough to crush a man.

Sen took out his spy glass and peered across the soon to be battle field. The ground trembled as he spotted a line of Fire nation tanks coming towards them through the smoke. Sen slid back into the trench, signaling the Earthbenders in the group to go into action. Each one leaped out of the trench, high in the air until they landed in front of the tanks. Working in perfect unison, they defended aganst the tanks until they were just a pile of smoking metal.

The Earth benders soon rejoined him in the trench. Doing a role, call he found that he had not lost a single man.

"Well done," he congratulated them and turned back to the problem at hand. The poor visabilty the smoke caused was almost completely gone. He noticed that the other trenches had done just as well. Metal pieces lay scattered across the battle field. A sudden sence of patriotism came upon Sen-Su. Perhaps the Fire Nation had underestimated the Earth Kingdom.

As the smoke continued to clear, Princess Azula emerged riding on her Mongoose-lizard. Two girls were at her side, each on their own lizard. Azula raised her hand, giving the comand to move forward. Thousands of Fire Nation troops marched behind her, others rode on rhinos while, more tanks cut a path through the battle field.

Looking up at the watch tower in the wall, Sen waited for the singnal to attack, but it never came. He waited longer, annoyed at first, because the thought of the Generals gambling with their lives was more then he could handle, but that feeling soon gave away to dread. Something was definitely wrong. Sen waited as long as he could, before the Fire Nation troops were upon them.

"Attack!" Sen cried, taking the battle into his own hands. His troops jumped out of the trench and the other men in other trenches followed his lead and engaged the enemy. The Earth warrior drew his sword and joined the battle as well. The Earth Kingdom troops fought well aganst the Fire Nation. Neither side gaining much ground on the other.

Sen-su blocked an attack coming from his right. The metal of the blades clanked together before he sent the man down to the ground. All was going well, but it was far too early in the battle to tell who was winning. Sweat dripped from Sen's brow as he defeated another man.

Azula hung back, those two girls still at either side of her. They stood watching the battle, it was not that unusal for a general to stand back and watch, but what threw Sen off was a fourth figure who appeared by her side. He was not riding a lizard and was dressed in the uniform of a Di Lai agent.

The thought of betrayal sent a shock though his mind. The Di Lai had betrayed them. He had no doubt that the agent who stood by the Princess' side was none other than Lang, who had disappeared before Sen and Loam could confront him. Loam, himself a navy captian was on Chameleon bay holding off the Fire Nation Navy.

As Sen continued to fight for his life, the sound of a horn reached his ears, signaling something. Perhaps it was retreat, but no, the Fire Nation out numbered them 2 to 1. It had to be something else. Sen did not have a chance to finish his thoughts before the ground shook violently. Sending the soldiers off balance. It was the wall and it was coming down!

Not sure what to do, Sen shouted to retreat and join the men who waited inside the walls as a reserve.

"The Di Lai betrayed us!" He shouted, "fall back inside the wall!" He ran around telling anyone he could find.

Sen slowly worked his way back, defending against the Fire Nation soldiers as his men began to fall around him. The Fire Nation marched forward, with Lang and Princess Azula at the head. Some of the Earthbenders attempted to raise a new wall but that attempt was futile, because a lightning strike from Azula made the wall crumble.

ATLAB

Zuko felt the Earth move beneath him. The Fire Nation was certainly up to something big. He knew that Azula never failed at anything and she was after him, the Avatar and now the whole Earth Kingdom. Soon she would have all three. Zuko hated to admit, but he needed help. He was sure Uncle Iroh would understand why he ditched work. It was finnaly time for the Fire Prince and the Avatar to work as one.

**Author's Note: I originally planned for this to be the last chapter, but I found that I am unable to fit everything I wanted to in it without it feeling rushed. So I am splitting it into a two parter. Thanks for reading! Update coming soon.**


	21. Part Two: The Inner Wall

Part Two: The Inner Wall

In his search for the Avatar, Zuko could only assume that he would be at one place. Zuko rushed up the steps of the Earth King's palace. He was sure that the Avatar would accept him, now of all times, with Fire Nation quite literally on their doorstep. Believe it or not, Zuko was willing to help. He reached the top of the stairs, while he needed stealth to get past the Earth King's guards, finding the King's chamber was not a problem.

It was at the end of the hall, and Zuko could only guess that it was behind two very fancy giant doors. He rushed up to them and pushed, slinging them wide open. The Earth King sat at the end of the room on his throne, while two Di Lai agents stood by his side. The Avatar and friends stood in front. It had appeared that Zuko interrupted an augment of some kind as he barged in. The Avatar and friends turned to look at him.

"Who is this?" The Earth King asked, but his question went unanswered.

"Zuko?" Sokka shouted excitedly, "good, you're here." Not the greeting he was expecting. "Now attack us, so the Earth King would believe that the Fire Nation is evil and on its way here to kill us."

"What?" Zuko paused, "I'm not here to fight you! My sister is at the outer wall…"

"Then why doesn't someone just let her in?" The Earth King asked, not quite understanding the situation.

"Trust me you don't want to do that," Aang answered. "She is leading the Fire Nation army and is trying to break through at this very moment."

"I don't know," The Earth King said, rubbing his chin. "Long Feng's men, say that it's just a construction project and that is why he could not be here."

"Long Feng is dead," Zuko said. "You are in great danger and if you don't believe that the Fire Nation is dangerous, I will show you."

Zuko ran forward, letting out a power blast of fire that obliterated two of the Earth King's vases. The Earth King was shocked, however the Di Lai leaped into action. Zuko dodged a glove. The fight was not able to escalate, because the Earth King stopped it with a shout.

"Stop this!" He shouted, "I think I believe you, young Avatar. But what do you expect me to do?"  
"Send out your personal guard," Sokka answered. "Reinforce the outer wall defenses."

The Di Lai, who remained silent up until this point, did not like what they were hearing. With a quick glance to each other, they raced forward from where they stood and grabbed the Earth King. It happened so fast, Zuko and the others did not have time to react.

"Come on Toph," Sokka shouted as he grabbed the blind Earth bender and they rushed after the Earth King.

Katara and Aang started towards the other door, but Zuko stopped them.

"Where do you think you are going?" Zuko asked.

Katara answered, "Get out of our way! You've been helpful but if you think you are going to keep us from stopping the Fire Nation…"

"No, that's not what I meant. Azula is a common enemy and I want to help stop her. I'm coming with you." Zuko said, "If the Di Lai betrayed you I think you will need all the help you can get."

Aang nodded and Katara shrugged as they ran out the door to the stable, in which, Appa was kept. The trio climbed aboard and the bison took off. As they flew over the city, it seemed so calm and peaceful but that was sure to change.

"Wait!" Zuko shouted, realizing he had forgotten something. "We need to pick up my Uncle."

Aang took Appa in the direction Zuko pointed. They landed as Iroh came out to greet them.

"Come on Uncle," Zuko said, hurrying his uncle along. "We need to stop Azula."

Iroh climbed up and onto the bison and they set off over the city until they reached the inner wall. The three of them were stunned at the sight; the battle was taking place just outside the city. The outer wall could be seen out in the distance, huge gaps were in sections of the wall.

The Earth Kingdom soldiers, the few that were left, fought for their lives on the farmland turned battlefield. Few of them were left. The Di Lai had joined the battle but on the wrong side. Aang took Appa high over the battle field and without warning he leaped off. Landing in the middle of the fighting.

Iroh and Zuko just looked at each other. "You won't mind if we land first before we get off." Iroh asked Katara as she climbed up and gripped the reigns.

Katara landed Appa just outside the battle field. Zuko and Iroh rushed quickly into the commotion with the Waterbender closely following. The Avatar was already taking out troops and tanks with an impressive combination of Airbending, Waterbending and Earthbending, but Zuko feared that was not enough. The Fire Prince absorbed a blast from a Firebender, who was surprised to see Zuko return with a fire attack. He and his Uncle continued fighting for the Earth Kingdom and even with the reinforcements, they were extremely out numbered.

The Fire Nation continued to push the Earthbenders back towards the inner wall, while frightened farmers hid, and a few of them joined the battle for Ba Sing Se. Slowly they made their way back to the wall. Soon Zuko spotted Azula a distance across the battle field, fighting the Avatar. With determination the Fire Prince began to fight in that direction.

He dodged another fire attack and returned it with a powerful blast that sent the man down. Occasionally he needed to avoid a confused Earthbender, but by now the Earth soldiers realized that he and his uncle were on their side. Zuko was now close to Azula, only three Di Lai agents stood in his way. Without giving the Di Lai a chance to react, Zuko sent a powerful two fisted fire blast their way, big enough that it took out all three with one shot.

Azula and the Avatar looked his way, taking a break from their feud.

"Zu, Zu." Azula taunted, "So good of you to join us."

At that moment Aang attacked by using a stone pillar, which Azula only used to launch herself high in the air. While in the air she sent a blue fire blast, one at each Zuko and the Avatar. Zuko rolled out of the way as the blue fire struck the ground leaving a scorch mark in the dust. The Avatar and the Fire Prince fought together against Princess Azula who began to tire.

As Zuko and Aang closed in on Azula, they heard a horn sound. An evil grin crept onto her face.

"Goodbye Zuko," She said as a Di Lai agent came riding up on Azula's lizard.

Zuko caught a glimpse of the agent's face and realized that it was Lang. Azula jumped gracefully onto its back and continued towards the wall. Zuko was confused that Lang could really be a Di Lai agent, he would have dwelled on it more if at that moment the inner wall had not started coming down.

The Avatar took out his bison whistle, blew on it until Appa came through the sky. Using Airbending he leaped on the bison's back. Zuko climbed up on it as well and they went looking for Katara and Iroh. When they found them Iroh and Katara were working together against the Fire Nation. Once they were on board they took off towards the city.

"What's going on!" Katara shouted over the wind.

"The Di Lai are bringing down the walls," Aang answered. "We need to make sure the Earth King is safe."

All of them agreed, "Drop Zuko and me in the city." Iroh said, "We will help hold them off until you are away."

"I'm coming to," Aang said, "I'm the Avatar, it's my job." He then turned to Katara. "Go help Sokka and Toph."

"Ok," Katara answered, "Be careful Aang."

They landed within the city, by now most of the Earth troops had surrendered. For few of them were left. Katara took off toward the palace as Zuko, Iroh and Aang turned their Attention to the Fire Nation Army that now marched unhindered through the streets.

Keeping at a distance, until the right moment to strike was a bit of Iroh's wisdom. So they followed through the shadows, watching Azula who proudly road on her lizard with Mai and Ty Lai by her side. A line of Di Lai marched behind her and behind them were the Fire Nation troops.

The citizens of Ba Sing Se hid in their houses, watching the Fire Nation force capture their city. It was over. It did not take long for them to reach the steps of the palace and to Zuko's surprise. A small group of Earth Kingdom men stood guarding at the foot of the palace. The leader of the men was none other than Sen-Su and he recognized some of the other men from his unit.

Azula stopped when she spotted the small road block in her way.

"Surrender," she said. "Your city is lost. Either submit or die."

"We are not cowards," Sen said looking directly at Lang, who stood by the princess's side, when he said this. "If you want the Earth King, come and take him." He drew his sword and it was at this moment that Zuko, Iroh and Aang appeared by his side.

"Zu, Zu and uncle fatso with the Avatar." Azula smiled, "this should certainty be amusing."

"Zuko?" Sen-Su said, clearly surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I have a score to settle," Zuko answered.

"I guess this means you are really are on our side this time?" Sen said, glancing over at the Avatar.

"I guess so," Zuko shrugged.

"Isn't this a touching reunion," Azula said sarcastically, "but if you don't mind I have a city to conquer."

With that she gave the Di Lai order to attack. A small battle erupted at the foot of the Earth King's palace. Zuko and his friends fought back but they were no match for the troops that began to fight their way up the steps. Even with the Avatar they could only hold them off for a little bit before they gained some more ground.

The larger Fire Nation army moved forward, pushing the few remaining troops up the stairs. Azula kept Aang busy as she unleashed a volley of her extreme Firebending power. Once halfway up the stairs Aang was able to avoid Azula's fire for a moment and use his Earthbending skills to flatten the stairs, turning them into a vertical slide. The Firebenders cried out as they lost their footing and began to descend. The Di Lai who were with them acted quickly to return the stairs to the normal state. By the time Azula regained her footing, the Earth soldiers and her brother and uncle were already at the top of the stairs and inside the Earth King's palace.

"What are we going to do now?" Zuko asked his uncle. "We can't win."

"No, your right Zuko we can't." Iroh answered, "Azula has the advantage with more men. Even with the Avatar we should not risk his safety."

"So this is it," Sen said. "This is where we make our last stand."

Out side the door, they could hear the Fire Nation trying to break through. Time was running out. Some of the remaining Earthbenders used their power to reinforce the doors.

"Call your bison," Iroh turned to Aang. "You still need to prepare to face the Fire Lord."

"But what about you?" Aang asked, "you promised to teach me Fire bending! I can't just let you here! None of you."

"You must go," Sen said, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder. "We are ready to sacrifice what we need to in the name of the Earth Kingdom."

"I still need to learn Firebending…" Aang started.

Iroh cut him off. "It was never my destiny to teach you and it was no coincidence that, my nephew found you at the South Pole."  
"What are you saying uncle?" Zuko asked.

"Goodbye nephew," Iroh said giving him a hug. "You must go with the Avatar and teach him what you have learned."

"Yes Uncle," Zuko answered, "but I will come back for you." He then turned to Sen, "goodbye my friend."

Aang took out his whistle and it was not long before, the cries of men outside could be heard along with the bison's roar. The Earthbenders opened the door and Zuko and Aang rushed outside. Zuko climbed up onto the bison and watched as the Firebenders swarmed into the palace.

No more fighting pursued, indicating that the remaining soldiers surrendered. Only the Avatar and his friends along with the Earth King escaped from Ba Sing Se on that day. Zuko watched as the Earth King's palace disappeared behind him and his future before him. He would teach the Avatar Firebending and help defeat his father and sister. Destiny certainly is a funny thing.

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! It was fun writing this story but I'm glad I finally finished it. It was hard coming up with a suitable ending, but I like this one because it blends back into Avatar's story line. (Kind of) Thanks for all the reviews they were very much appreciated and again thanks for reading! **


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